Hollis,  N.H. 


One  Hundred  Fiftieth 

Anniversary 
Congregational  Church 


v-  m  I  R 


H    ; 


TEjk .'-  # 


BX7I50 


py 


3*7150 

.H7C7 

A3 


NOV  14 

•Logical  s« 


ONE    HUNDRED    FIFTIETH 


ANNIVERSARY 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 


H0LLIS,    N.    H. 


A    BRIEF    HISTORY 


OF  THE 


CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH 


HOLLIS,     IT.     1H. 


SKETCHES 

OF  THE 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL  AND  THE  CHOIR 

AND    REMINISCENCES 

PRESENTED    AT    THE     ONE    HUNDRED     FIFTIETH     ANNIVER- 
SARY   OF   THE    ORGANIZATION    OF   THE    CHURCH,' 

KPRIL    20.     1S93. 


BRISTOL,   N.   H.: 
PRINTED  BY  R.  W.  MUSGROVE. 

1893. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  church,  December  29,  1892,  a 
committee,  consisting  of  the  pastor,  Dea.  E.  J.  Colburn,  Wil- 
bert  P.  Farley,  Mrs.  Charlotte  M.  Farley,  and  Mrs.  Ellen  H. 
Lovejoy,  were  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the  mat- 
ter of  the  public  observance  of  the  one  hundred  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  the  organization  of  the  church  and  the  settlement 
of  the  first  minister  in  town.  If  in  their  judgment  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  celebrate  the  occasion,  they  were  empow- 
ered to  make  all  necessary  arrangements  therefor,  including 
the  appointment  of  committees.  Deciding  that  it  was  best  to 
observe  the  day,  they  appointed  Cyrus  F.  Burge,  Charles  S. 
Spaulding,  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Farley  a  Historical  Committee  ; 
Albert  H.  Richardson,  a  Committee  on  Entertainment,  with 
authority  to  choose  needed  assistants,  and  Silas  M.  Spald- 
ing and  Mrs.  Louisa  D.  Spalding  a  Committee  on  an  Old  Time 
Exhibition. 

The  necessary  arrangements  being  completed,  we  came 
together  April  20,  1893,  at  the  town  hall,  at  10  1-2  a.  m., 
where  three  hours  were  very  pleasantly  spent  in  social  reun- 
ion, a  dinner  to  which  upwards  of  three  hundred  fifty  sat 
down,  and  in  viewing  the  collection  of  old-time  relics. 
These  consisted,  in  part,  of  a  pew  and  a  portion  of  the  pulpit 
taken  from  the  meeting-house  before  its  change  in  1849,  a 
portion  of  the  communion  set  in  use  before  1831,  the  original 
charter  of  the  town,  table  articles  in  use  by  the  first  settler 
and  by  the  first  minister,  a  flax  and  a  spinning  wheel,  a  tin 
kitchen  and  a  baker,  a  gun  carried  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  ancient  books  and  documents,  etc. 


At  i  1-2  p.  m.,  we  adjourned  to  the  church,  where  the  fol- 
lowing programme  was  carried  out :  — 
Hymn, — "  Come  every  pious  heart." 
Scripture  reading,  by  Rev.  A.  J.  McGown. 
Prayer,  by  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Adams.* 
Anthem. 

Historical  address, — Rev.  S.  L.  Gerould. 
Anthem. 

Sketch  of  the  Sunday-school, — Dea.  E.  J.  Colburn. 
Anthem. 

Sketch  of  the  choir, — Dexter  Greenwood. 
Reminiscences, — Dea.  Henry   G.  Little,  of  Grinnell,  Iowa. 
Hymn, — "O  God,  beneath  Thy  guiding  hand." 
Benediction. 

*A  great-great-grandson  of  the  first  ministe  r. 


HISTORICAL    ADDRESS 


BY  REV.  SAMUEL  h.   GEROULD,  PASTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


It  is  almost  presumptious  for  one  at  this  day,  and  especially 
for  one  who  has  had  a  residence  in  the  place  for  only  seven 
years,  to  attempt  to  present  anything  that  is  new  in  the  line 
of  local  history.  A  town  that  has  produced  a  painstaking 
historian  like  Samuel  T.  Worcester  can  furnish  few  facts  of 
interest  that  have  not  already  been  recorded  by  him.  So  to- 
day one  can  uu  little  more  than  to  rehearse,  for  the  sake  of 
the  younger  generation,  what  he  has  so  well  expressed  in  his 
"History  of  Hollis,"  and  to  glean,  here  and  there,  some 
trifling  incidents  from  fields  that  he  passed  lightly  over. 

The  first  information  we  have  of  this  town  is  the  granting, 
by  the  province  of  Massachusetts  in  1661,  of  eight  hundred 
acres  of  what  is  now  a  part  of  its  territory  to  the  widow  and 
second  son  of  Thomas  Flint,  in  consideration  of  services  ren- 
dered by  him  as  a  magistrate.  From  this  family  we  get  a 
name  for  a  hill,  pond  and  brook  in  this  place. 

Previous  to  the  time  of  this  grant,  the  territory  now  in- 
cluded within  the  boundaries  of  Hollis  had  been  the  home  of 
certain  Indian  tribes.  The  Nissitissets  lived  in  the  western, 
or  hilly,  part  of  the  town,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Birch  hill, 
which  in  early  times  was  called  Nissitisset  hill.  The  Pene- 
chucks  had  their  home  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  town, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  pond  now  bearing  their  name,  as 
this  afforded  them  an  abundance  of  fish.  The  Auke-cun-sicks 
were  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  town,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Runnell's  bridge,    with    headquarters   near    Flint's    hill. 


What  we  now  call  Hollis,  by  the  Indians  and  by  the  first 
whites  that  came  into  the  region,  was  called  Nissitisset,  a 
word  meaning,  according  to  some,  "  two  rivers,"  and  accord- 
ing to  others  "  a  turkey." 

A  serious  distemper,  resembling  the  old-fashioned  ' '  putrid 
sore  throat,"  had  raged  among  the  Indians  in  1613,  which 
almost  destroyed  some  of  the  tribes,  and  broke  the  warlike 
spirit  of  all. 

Let  us  go  back  in  our  imagination  one  hundred  fifty 
years,  and  try  to  get  some  idea  of  the  place,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  things  here  at  that  time.  It  was  then  called  West 
Dunstable,  and  included  all  that  part  of  the  present  town 
west  of  the  Nashua  river,  Flint's  pond,  Muddy  brook,  and  the 
line  continuing  north  to  the  Souhegan  river  ;  all  that  part  of 
Amherst  and  of  the  east  part  of  Milford  south  of  that  river  ; 
and  nearly  all  of  Brookliue.  The  town  of  Dunstable,  which 
was  chartered  October  16,  1673,  of  which  this  was  a  parish, 
included,  besides  what  I  have  named,  all  of  the  present  towns 
of  Nashua,  Dunstable  and  Hudson,  and  parts  of  Pepperell, 
Townsend,  Tyngsboro',  Litchfield,  and  Pelham.  This  parish 
received  its  charter  December  28,  1739.  It  was  then  sup- 
posed that  all  this  territory  was  in  the  province  of  Massachu- 
setts, which,  accordingly,  gave  the  above-named  charters. 

It  was  invariably  stipulated  in  all  the  charters  given  at  that 
date  that  the  people  should  "  take  due  care  from  time  to  time 
to  be  constantly  provided  with  a  learned,  able,  and  orthodox 
minister;"  and  precincts,  or  parishes,  were  given  the  same 
powers,  and  charged  with  the  same  duties  in  this  respect  as 
towns.  The  occasion  for  the  seeking  of  this  parish  charter 
was  the  fact  that  none  of  the  people  lived  nearer  to  a  meeting- 
house than  seven  miles,  and  some  of  them  were  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, and  that  if  they  went  to  their  own  meeting  they  had  to 
pass  over  a  ferry  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  And  this  "ferry," 
you  must  know,  instead  of  being  a  boat,  was  the  back  of  a 
trusty  horse,  which  swam  the  river  when  he  could  not  find  a 
foothold.     Their  meeting-house  was  situated  near  the  state 


line,  south  of  the  present  city  hall  of  Nashua,  it  being  the  first 
church  in  Dunstable. 

From  this  you  will  see  something  of  the  interest  of  the  first 
settlers  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  this  interest  was  manifest- 
ed as  much  by  those  who  were  not  members  of  the  church  as 
by  those  who  were.  They  recognized  their  dependence  on 
God,  and  the  necessity  of  recognizing  Him,  and  of  keeping 
up  the  institutions  of  religion,  if  they  would  secure  their  own 
prosperity. 

Instead  of  the  roads  we  now  have,  there  were  only  bridle 
paths,  and  but  few  of  these.  Not  until  1780  was  there  a  vehi- 
cle in  town  for  the  conveyance  of  people  ;  if  they  travelled, 
they  must  do  so  on  foot,  on  horseback,  or  be  drawn  by  oxen 
in  a  cart  or  on  a  sled.  This  was  then  a  wilderness,  except  for 
the  few  settlements  made  here  and  there,  inhabited  by  wild 
beasts  and  rattlesnakes,  over  which  the  hunting  Indian  occa- 
sionally roamed,  or  came  to  fish  in  the  ponds.  There  was 
nothing  whatever  to  betoken  the  present  situation. 

Peter  Powers,  then  but  twenty-two  years  old,  had  come 
here  in  the  summer  of  1730,  and  made  a  clearing,  and  built  a 
log  house,  on  a  spot  a  few  rods  west  of  Marcellus  J.  Powers's, 
on  land  now  owned  by  Dr.  Frank  Bell.  Into  this  home,  in 
January,  1731,  he  brought  his  wife,  twenty-one  years  old, 
with  their  two  little  children.  He  was  the  first  permanent 
settler,  although  a  Caleb  Frye  had  squatted,  as  a  trapper,  for 
a  brief  period,  two  or  three  years  before,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  north  school-house. 

Think  of  this  youthful  couple,  in  this  little  clearing,  with 
their  infant  children,  their  nearest  neighbor — if  Frye  had  then 
left  the  parts — ten  miles  distant  by  the  nearest  bridle  path  ! 
With  wmat  courage  and  will  must  they  have  been  animated 
to  have  settled  here  under  these  circumstances. 

In  the  summer  of  1732  Eleazer  Flagg  came  here,  locating 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  The  third  settler  was  Thomas 
Dinsmore,  who  made  his  home  east  of  the  road,  and  a  little 
below  the  present  house  of  John  Coburn.     And  so  one  fol- 


8 

lowed  another  until,  at  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the 
church,  there  were  twenty-nine  families  in  the  little  settle- 
ment; the  thirtieth,  Jonathan  L,ovejoy,  coming  in  that  very 
day. 

It  would  be  interesting  if  we  could  positively  know  the 
motives  that  led  our  fathers  to  settle  in  this  wilderness  ;  but 
in  the  absence  of  knowledge  we  can  infer  that  it  was  that 
spirit  which  has  led  so  many  of  the  sturdy  sons  of  New  Eng- 
land to  settle  on  the  Western  prairies,  and  that  to-day  is 
bringing  so  many  from  foreign  lands  to  these  shores.  It  was, 
in  part,  a  spirit  of  enterprise  arising  from  a  desire  to  improve 
their  situation.  But  for  that  spirit,  we  should  all  be  living  in 
congested  centers,  and  there  would  still  be  large  areas  of  wil- 
derness in  our  country. 

We  must  also  remember  that  these  townships  were  granted 
on  the  condition  that  the  proprietors  should  secure  settlers  to 
occupy  the  land.  The  grants  being  made,  skillful  talkers 
were  sent  into  the  older  settlements  to  persuade  the  people 
that  it  would  be  for  their  advantage  to  take  up  this  new  land. 
Glowing  accounts  of  the  attractiveness  of  the  place,  and  the 
productiveness  of  the  soil,  were  given;  the  representations 
being  of  such  a  nature  that  any  but  a  perfectly  contented  per- 
son— and  how  few  such  there  are  even  to-day — would  be  led 
to  believe  that  he  could  greatly  improve  his  situation  by  the 
change.  The  methods  taken  were  probably  not  unlike 
those  taken  to-day  to  boom  some  new  place  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  with  a  similar  result. 

We  must  remember  that  at  the  period  of  which  we  are 
speaking,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards,  it  was  the  town,  or 
parish,  and  not  the  church,  that  acted  in  all  matters  relating 
to  the  erection  of  meeting-houses  and  the  support  of  the  min- 
istry. Before  a  church  was  organized  in  any  place,  the  town 
through  its  appointed  officers,  provided  preaching  as  often  as  it 
was  able  to  do  so.  But  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  an  infant 
settlement  of  twenty  or  thirty  families  could  support  a  minis- 
ter without  outside  assistance ;    and  at  that  time  there  were 


no  missionary  societies  to  help.  By  the  parish  charter,  here- 
tofore mentioned,  West  Dunstable  was  allowed  to  assess  two 
pence  per  acre  annually  on  all  non-resident  land,  for  a  period 
of  five  years,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  meeting-house  and 
maintaining  public  worship.  This  would  have  yielded  them 
a  sum  equivalent  to  about  $1,380. 

It  is  not  strange  that  there  was  some  controversy  as  to  the 
location  of  a  meeting-house.  The  people  in  the  west  part  of 
the  town  wanted  it  on  Proctor  hill.  Other  places  were  also 
proposed.  A  vote  was  passed  at  the  first  parish  meeting  to 
erect  it  on  the  land  near  where  John  Coburn's  house  now 
stands,  but  this  was  soon  after  reconsidered.  In  1741  the 
first  house,  22  x  20  x  9,  was  built  on  the  spot  where  this  stands. 
Its  site  and  the  adjoining  burying-ground  were  given  by 
Abraham  Taylor,  who  lived  a  few  rods  south-west  of  Charles 
B.  Richardson's  blacksmith  shop.  Whether  the  house  was 
built  of  hewn  logs,  or  of  sawed  lumber,  is  not  certain.  A  saw 
mill  had  been  erected  two  years  before  not  far  from  the  Hay- 
den  Brothers'  mill,  which  may  have  furnished  the  lumber.  It 
is  probable,  too,  that  there  was  another  saw-mill  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  town,  built  in  1740  or  1741,  near  where  the 
Sullivan  house  was  burned  a  few  years  since.  This  may 
have  furnished  the  lumber. 

That  our  thrifty  fathers  did  not  need  any  missionary  society 
to  help  them  is  made  evident  by  an  unanimous  vote  passed  in 
March,  1740,  "That  Peter  Powers  and  Abraham  Taylor 
should  have  all  the  taxes  coming  from  non-resident  proprie- 
tors on  condition  that  they  bind  themselves  to  maintain  and 
constantly  support  preaching  for  the  term  of  five  years,  and 
erect  a  meeting-house,  pay  off  the  debts  of  the  parish  arising 
from  their  being  set  off  from  Dunstable,  and  in  getting  timber 
for  a  bridge  across  the  Nashua  river,  also  to  pay  for  some 
back  preaching  by  Mr.  Underwood."  Not  unlikely  there  are 
parishes  of  the  present  day  that  would  be  glad  to  avail  them- 
selves of  a  similar  opportunity. 

But  they  were  soon  doomed  to  meet  a  great  disappointment. 


The  same  year  in  which  the  meeting-house  was  built,  the  state 
line  was  re-surveyed,  and  it  was  found  that  West  Dunstable  was 
no  longer  in  Massachusetts,  but  in  New  Hampshire.  By  this 
decision,  not  only  was  their  corporate  existence  lost,  but  their 
expectation  of  having  their  expenses  paid  by  non-resident 
taxes  was  lost  also.  Consequently  they  sought  frcm  New 
Hampshire  what  till  now  they  supposed  they  had  obtained 
from  Massachusetts.  But  New  Hampshire  was  not  disposed 
to  be  so  liberal.  They  asked  for  a  fish,  and  were  given  a 
stone, — in  having  that  part  of  Dunstable  north  of  the  state 
line,  and  west  of  the  Merrimack  river,  organized  into  a  "  dis- 
trict" for  the  collection  of  province  taxes  only.  But  though 
cast  down  by  this  bitter  disappointment,  they  were  not  de- 
stroyed. They  continued  to  go  through  the  form  of  holding 
meetings,  electing  officers,  and  assessing  taxes  for  the  support 
of  worship  as  before.  They  had  preaching  as  they  were  able 
to  secure  it  with  their  limited  means  ;  a  Joseph  Underwood,  a 
Richard  Pattershall  and  a  John  Towle,  or  Fowle,  being 
among  those  employed.  And  it  would  seem  that  quite  a 
large  proportion  of  the  expense  of  this  preaching,  as  well  as 
of  building  the  first  and  second  meeting-houses,  was  secured 
afterward  from  the  non-resident  tax,  quite  a  part  of  which 
they  shrewdly  managed  to  collect. 

The  sterling  character  of  the  people  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that,  though  they  had  no  corporate  existence,  they  were  de- 
termined not  to  be  without  the  gospel.  At  a  public  meeting, 
held  January  17,  1743,  they  came  together  by  common  con- 
sent and  in  their  individual  capacity,  and  voted  to  call  Daniel 
Emerson,  of  Reading,  Mass.,  to  become  their  pastor.  They 
fixed  the  salary  and  made  all  the  arrangements  for  his  settle- 
ment and  maintenance  ;  and  then,  that  it  might  be  impossible 
to  take  advantage  of  their  situation  to  evade  future  responsi- 
bility, forty-three  persons  signed  the  call  and  the  agreement, 
making  it  as  good  as  a  promissory  note.  Some  of  these  names, 
however,  must  have  been  of  minors,  as,  on  the  morning  of  Mr. 
Emerson's  settlement,  there  were  but  twenty-nine  families  in 
town. 


II 

In  those  days,  besides  the  annual  salary,  it  was  customary 
to  give  a  new  minister  what  was  called  a  "settlement,"  it 
being  either  a  sum  of  money,  or  land,  or  both.  To  Mr. 
Emerson  was  given  forty  acres  of  laud  near  the  church,  and 
what  would  be  equal  to  $333.  His  annual  salary  was  gradu- 
ated, being  at  first  $171,  and  finally  $239.40,  also  thirty  cords 
of  wood.  After  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  April  3,  1746, 
it  assumed  his  support,  and  year  by  year  voted  the  sum  agreed 
upon  by  those  signing  the  call,  thereby  relieving  them  from 
their  obligation. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  this  chureh  there  were  in 
this  state  forty-seven  other  churches,  all  but  three  of  them, 
and  these  Presbyterian,  being  of  the  "standing  order,"  as 
the  Congregational  church  was  then  called.  Thirty-one  of 
these  were  in  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  state — Dover  being 
the  first  organized  ;  ten  were  in  this  neighborhood  ;  in  what 
is  now  Cheshire  county  there  were  three  ;  and  lying  about 
Concord  there  were  a  like  number.  Daniel  Wilkins  was  the 
pastor  at  Amherst,  William  Davidson  at  Deny,  Nathaniel 
Merrill  at  Hudson,  David  McGregore  at  Londonderry,  Joshua 
Tufts  at  Litchfield,  Abner  Bailey  at  Salem,  and  Josiah  Swan 
at  Dunstable  or  Nashua. 

We  speak  of  this  as  the  anniversary  of  the  organization  of 
the  church,  and  yet  there  is  no  proof  that  it  was  organized 
April  30,  1743;  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  may  have  been  a 
year  or  two  earlier,  but  in  the  absence  of  proof  to  the  contrary 
it  is  assumed  to  have  been  on  the  date  of  the  ordination  and 
installation  of  the  first  minister. 

We  come  now  to  that  great  day,  truly  a  "  red  letter  day  " 
in  the  history  of  Hollis,  one  hundred  fifty  years  ago.  From 
their  log  houses  the  people  began  to  come  together  at  an  early 
hour,  men,  women  and  children,  down  to  the  youngest  in  the 
household.  The  men  had  work  enough  to  do  in  clearing 
their  farms  and  in  providing  necessary  food,  but  they  were 
deeply  interested  in  the  occasion  that  called  them  together. 
They  came  on  horseback  or  on  foot  from  all  parts  of  the  town, 


and  doubtless  there  were  many  from  old  Dunstable,  from  Am- 
herst, from  Groton,  and  from  other  places.  I  venture  to  say 
that  unless  a  person  was  physically  disabled  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  were  present.  The  men  probably  brought 
their  guns,  for  there  were  prowling  bands  of  Indians  around, 
and  they  must  be  on  their  guard.  One,  with  loaded  musket, 
stood  outside,  while  the  others  crowded  into  the  little  church, 
which  was  less  than  two  thirds  the  size  of  our  present  vestry. 
In  those  days  the  front  seats  were  the  places  of  honor,  and  the 
people  sought  these  rather  than  those  in  the  rear.  They  were 
all  curious  to  see  their  youthful  minister,  then  twenty-seven 
years  old,  and  the  dignified  council  of  ministers  gathered 
around  him. 

The  records  are  silent  as  to  the  number  and  composition  of 
the  council  called  to  ordain  and  install  him,  but  it  is  probable 
that  all  the  neighboring  ministers  were  present  as  well  as 
some  from  a  distance.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev. 
Wm.  Hobby  of  Reading,  Mass.,  from  the  text  2  Cor.  8:  23, 
last  clause — "  The  glory  of  Christ;  "  the  sermon  being  an  ar- 
gument showing  that  the  minister  is  the  glory  of  Christ.  The 
sermon  was  printed  in  Boston  in  1743,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  still 
in  existence. 

The  people  of  that  day  had  no  newspapers,  and  almost  no 
books ;  a  half  dozen  volumes  would  have  been  considered  a 
large  family  library.  Having  so  little  reading  they  were  fond 
of  listening  to  long  sermons,  which  gave  them  food  for  thought 
and  conversation.  It  is  said  of  another  church  that  when  its 
minister  cut  down  his  two  sermons  from  an  hour  and  a  half 
to  an  hour,  some  of  the  brethren  of  the  church  came  to  labor 
with  him  on  account  of  his  indolence. 

Mr.  Emerson  was  not  married  when  he  settled  here.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  after  his  ordination  he  built  his  first  house, 
which  was  burned  April  11,  1744.  Its  location  is  in  doubt, 
but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Hannah  Rideout.  Mr.  Emerson  brought  his  bride  to 
town  in  the  autumn  of  1744,  and  so  it  is  presumed  he  rebuilt 
his  house  the  previous  summer. 


13 

His  first  sermon  was  preached  from  Acts  10:  29 — "I  ask, 
therefore,  for  what  intent  ye  have  sent  for  me?"  The  first 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  observed  June  5,  1743, 
and  the  day  was  memorable,  also,  as  the  occasion  of  the  fun- 
eral of  Abraham  Taylor,  who  had  given  the  land  for  the 
church  and  the  burying  ground,  and  who  was  the  first  adult 
to  be  buried  in  the  cemetery.  Two  years  after,  or  July  31, 
1745,  the  church  covenant  was  "renewed"  and  signed  by  ten 
persons  besides  the  pastor.  It  is  significant  that  no  woman's 
name  is  appended  to  the  list.  As  indicating  something  of  the 
changes  wrought  by  time  this  covenant  is  here  given : — 

"We,  whose  names  are  underwritten  (being  the  second 
church  in  Dunstable) ,  do  covenant  with  the  Lord  and  with 
one  another,  and  do  solemnly  bind  ourselves  before  the  Lord 
and  his  people,  that  we  will,  through  Christ's  strengthening 
of  us,  walk  after  the  Lord  in  all  his  ways,  as  he  hath  traced 
them  out  in  his  word. 

"  1  st.  We  avouch  the  Lord  Jehovah  to  be  our  God,  and  give 
up  ourselves  with  our  seed  after  us  in  their  several  genera- 
tions to  be  his  people,  and  that  in  the  sincerity  and  truth  of 
our  hearts. 

' '  2nd.  We  give  up  ourselves  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  be 
ruled  and  guided  by  him  in  the  matters  of  his  worship,  and 
in  our  whole  conversation  acknowledging  him,  not  only  our 
alone  Saviour,  but  also  our  King,  to  rule  in  and  over  us,  as 
well  as  our  prophet  and  teacher  by  his  word  and  Spirit ;  ac- 
cordingly we  vholly  disclaim  our  own  righteousness  in  point 
of  justification,  cleaving  unto  him  for  righteousness,  life,  grace 
and  glory. 

"  3d.  We  promise,  by  the  help  of  Christ,  to  walk  with  our 
brethren  and  sisters  of  the  church  in  the  spirit  of  love,  watch- 
ing over  them,  and  caring  for  them,  avoiding  all  jealousies, 
suspicions,  backbitings,  censurings,  quarrelings,  and  secret 
risings  of  the  heart  against  them ;  forgiving  and  forbearing, 
and  yet  seasonably  admonishing  and  restoring  them  with  the 


spirit  of  meekness,  who,  through  infirmity,  have  been  over- 
taken in  a  fault. 

"  4th.  We  will  not  be  forward  in  church  meetings  to  show 
our  gifts  and  parts  in  speaking ;  nor  endeavor  to  disgrace  our 
brethren  by  discovering  their  failings,  but  attend  an  orderly 
call  before  we  speak,  doing  nothing  to  the  offence  of  the 
church,  but  in  all  things  endeavoring  our  own  and  our  broth- 
ers' edification. 

' '  5th.  We  further  promise  to  study  how  we  may  advance  the 
gospel  and  kingdom  of  Christ  so  that  we  may  gain  them  that 
are  without,  and  settle  peace  among  ourselves,  and  seek  the 
peace  of  all  the  churches,  not  putting  a  stumbling  block  be- 
fore any,  but  shunning  the  very  appearance  of  evil. 

"6th.  We  promise  to  demean  ourselves  obediently  in  all 
lawful  things  toward  those  God  has  or  shall  place  over  us  in 
church  or  commonwealth. 

' '  7th.  We  resolve  in  the  same  strength  to  approve  ourselves 
in  our  particular  callings,  shunning  idleness;  nor  will  we  op- 
press any  we  deal  with  ;  also  promising,  as  we  are  able,  to 
teach  our  children  and  servants  the  good  knowledge  of  the 
Ivord,  and  to  fulfill  all  relative  duties  prescribed  in  God's 
word,  that  all  ours  may  learn  to  fear  and  serve  the  L,ord  with 
ourselves." 

The  church  records  do  not  show  that  any  articles  of  faith 
or  creed  were  introduced  during  Mr.  Emerson's  ministry,  or 
until  1805,  though  it  is  probable  that  assent  to  something  of 
the  kind  was  required. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  no  records  of  the  action  of  the 
church  were  made  from  1758  to  1792,  consequently  much  of 
the  history  of  this  period  is  lost.  As  to  the  membership,  all 
we  know  is  that  ten  males  signed  the  covenant  in  1745,  and 
forty-seven  members  voted  on  a  certain  question  in  1755.  As 
in  those  days  females  never  voted,  and  as  there  must  have 
been  as  many  women  as  men,  the  church  must  have  num- 
bered not  less  than  twenty  in  July,  1745,  and  not  less  than  one 
hundred  in  1755.  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Emerson's  ministry 
the  number  had  increased  to  two  hundred. 


15 

The  first  minister  was  hardly  settled  before  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  meeting-house  was  too  small  to  accommodate  the 
increasing  population.  So,  again,  before  they  had  a  charter, 
the  people  unanimously  voted  Sept.  6,  1745,  to  build  a  house 
50x44x23.  They  began  at  once  to  prepare  the  materials,  but 
as  the  town  received  its  charter  April  3,  1746,  it  was  thought 
best  to  make  their  action  legal,  so  the  previous  vote  was  formal- 
ly affirmed,  June  13,  1746.  Before  the  house  was  raised, 
however,  considerable  opposition  to  its  location  had  manifested 
itself  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  part  of  the 
town,  which  is  now  in  Brookline.  They  did  their  best  to 
have  it  built  on  Proctor  hill,  but  were  not  able  to  change  the 
location. 

The  house  was  raised  Aug.  13,  1746,  though  it  was  two 
years  before  it  was  ready  for  the  pews.  "  Pew  ground,"  as 
it  was  called,  was  then  sold,  and  those  who  bought  were  re- 
quired to  build  their  own  pews,  which  the  husband  and 
wife,  and  probably  small  children,  were  permitted  to  occupy 
together.  There  were  twenty  of  these  pews  arranged  around 
the  building  next  the  walls,  and  only  those  paying  the  largest 
taxes  could  occupy  them.  The  rest  of  the  men  and  women 
and  the  older  children  occupied  long  seats  in  the  center  of 
the  house,  and  in  the  galleries,  the  men  being  on  the  west 
and  the  women  on  the  east  side  of  the  house.  The  pulpit  did 
not  co  ne  until  1749,  and  the  porches  not  until  1772.  We 
find  that  the  town  agreed  to  pay  eighteen  shillings  annually 
for  the  care  of  the  house,  but  it  was  careful  to  provide  that 
unless  the  work  was  done  acceptably  nothing  should  be  paid. 
I  wonder  if  a  janitor  to-day  could  be  found  who  wrould  risk 
his  salary  on  an  agreement  to  satisfy  everybody. 

The  town's  first  minister  is  characterized  as  being  in  his 
youth  remarkable  for  his  alertness  and  fondness  for  skating 
and  wrestling.  Graduating  at  Harvard  in  1739,  he  remained 
there  for  some  months  as  college  butler.  While  in  college  he 
was  said  to  have  been  very  fond  of  gay  pleasures,  until  his 
attention  was  turned  to  the  subject  of  religion  by  the  preach- 


i6 

ing  of  George  Whitefield  in  the  autumn  of  1740.  Like  many 
others  at  that  time  he  followed  Mr.  Whitefield  from  place  to 
place.  He  received  into  his  own  strong,  ardent,  impulsive 
nature  the  influence  of  this  mighty  man  of  God.  The  preach- 
ing of  Whitefield  introduced  a  more  liberal  element  into  the 
theology  of  that  day,  and  his  adherants  were  known  as  !'  New 
Lights."  When  Mr.  Emerson  had  been  settled  a  short  time 
he  became  known  as  a  prominent  "  New  Light,"  and  this  had 
the  effect  of  alienating  from  him  some  of  his  brethren  in  the 
ministry.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  became  a  kind  of  bishop 
for  the  region  round  about,  no  man  in  southern  New  Hamp- 
shire being  more  extensively  known,  or  his  influence  more 
powerfully  felt  than  his.  The  chief  excellencies  of  his  preach- 
ing were  said  to  be  his  "sound  doctrine,  deep  feeling  and 
zeal,  at  times  almost  overwhelming."  Through  his  influence 
many  of  the  young  men  of  his  parish  were  persuaded  to  enter 
the  ministry. 

His  interest  in  public  affairs  is  shown  by  his  acceptance  in 
1755,  and  again  in  1758,  of  a  commission  as  chaplain  in  regi- 
ments commanded  respectively  by  Colonel  Joseph  Blanchard 
of  Dunstable  and  Colonel  John  Hart  of  Portsmouth,  which 
marched  against  the  French  and  Indians.  On  each  occasion 
he  was  absent  about  six  months.  As  letting  us  into  the  inner 
life  of  the  man,  I  give  you  the  contents  of  one  of  his  letters  to 
his  wife,  written  in  1755  from  Crown  Point,  N.  Y.,  and  brought 
to  Hollis,  according  to  tradition,  by  his  faithful  dog,  which 
he  had  taken  with  him  for  the  purpose.  The  original  of  the 
letter  is  still  in  existence*  in  this  town. 

Lake  George,  Sept.  19,  1755. 
My  Dear  Wife : — If  you  could  by  a  window  look  into  my  heart  I 
believe  you  would  find  that  you  posssessed  as  much  of  me  as  ever 
woman  did  of  any  man's  heart  on  earth.  I  fear  I  spend  too  much  time 
in  thinking  about  you.  My  children  are  very  dear  to  me  you  know, 
and  blessed  be  God  we  have  such  pleasant  ones,  but  you  do  outweigh 
them  all.     I  hope  God  is  and  has  been  the  health  of  your  countenance 


With  Mrs.  Levi  Abbot,  a  great-granddaughter. 


I? 

and  your  God.  I  hope  to  see  you,  dearest  of  mortal  creatures,  before 
October  is  out  if  God  will.  I  hope  you  and  I  shall  be  resigned  to  God's 
will  in  our  absence,  and  be  better  fitted  and  prepared  to  live  his  praise 
together  than  ever  we  were.  I  wish  I  may  be  enabled  to  be  as  kind  a 
husband  as  ever  lived.  I  know  you  do  deserve  to  be  treated  well,  let 
my  conduct  be  what  it  will.  I  can  see  many  mistakes  in  my  behaviour. 
I  wish  I  may,  but  durst  not  promise  to,  conduct  better,  knowing  I  am 
nothing.  My  dear,  I  still  thank  you  for  your  love,  tenderness,  and 
dutifulness  constantly  exercised  toward  me  ever  since  I  knew  you.  I 
pray  the  God  of  our  fathers  may  bless  you  and  our  dear  little  ones. 
I  hope  you  all  are  in  health.  I  am  very  well,  better  than  I  have  been 
this  three  years  last  past.  When  I  wrote  you  last  I  was  not  so  well, 
but  getting  better.  I  eat  heartily  in  the  morning.  I  hope  you  will  be 
directed  how  to  manage  affairs.  I  hope  to  be  at  home  soon  enough  to 
get  winter  beef.  If  you  want  anything  don't  spare  for  family  necessa- 
ries. I  have  written  to  Bro.  Emerson*  to  assist  you.  I  wish  you  all 
the  blessings  of  the  Mediator's  grace,  and  hope  and  pray  God  to  make 
up  my  absence  to  you  in  the  more  abundant  effusions  of  his  Holy 
Spirit  on  you  and  family.  O  my  dear,  like  apprentices  I  reckon  by 
days,  'tis  long,  long  since  I  saw  you.  I  commend  you  to  God  who  is 
able  to  keep  you  from  falling,  and  fill  you  with  all  good,  but  if  you  do 
want  to  see  me  as  I  do  you,  I  pity  you  from  my  heart.  My  .love  to 
you  aud  children.  Daniel  Emerson. 

During  Mr.  Emerson's  ministry  what  was  called  the  "  Half 
Way  Covenant"  was  in  use  in  this  church.  It  was  voted, 
April  8,  1748,  "to  admit  persons  to  take  the  covenant  upon 
them  without  coming  to  full  communion."  This  was  an  ar- 
rangement by  which  persons  who  were  not  church  members, 
if  they  owned  or  accepted  the  covenant  of  the  church,  had 
the  privilege  of  presenting  their  children  for  baptism,  a  privi- 
lege as  much  prized  by  our  fathers  as  it  is  disregarded  by  their 
children.  The  practice  grew  out  of  a  law  in  the  Massachu- 
setts and  New  Haven  colonies,  years  before,  by  which  only 
baptized  persons  could  hold  office.  This  was  offensive  to 
many,  as  by  it  their  children  would  be  excluded  from  office, 
and  so  this  compromise  was  made,  which  wrought  much  mis- 
chief in  the  churches.  The  practice  continued  long  after  the 
cause  for  its  adoption  ceased  to  exist,  and  was  in  vogue  here 


*Probably  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson  of  Pepperell,  Mass.,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Emerson. 


until  July  r8,  1794,  when  it  was  "voted,  to  repeal  a  vote 
formerly  passed  to  admit  parents  to  offer  their  children  in 
baptism  on  confessing  the  covenant  without  coming  to  full 
communion." 

In  1764  Rev.  Peter  Powers,  who  may  be  called  a  son  of  the 
town,  though  he  was  two  years  old  when  his  youthful  parents 
settled  here,  having  previously  been  a  minister  for  a  few  years 
in  Lisbon,  Ct.,  went  to  Newbury,  Vt.,  where  there  was  an 
infant  settlement,  and  organized  a  church,  composed  of  mem- 
bers on  both  sides  of  the  Connecticut  river.  He  was  invited 
to  the  pastorate  and  accepted  the  call.  As  there  were  no 
churches  in  that  neighborhood,  and  so  it  would  be  inconven- 
ient to  convene  a  council,  the  church  voted  that  the  installa- 
tion should  be  "down  country,"  and  appointed  one  of  its 
members  to  represent  them.  Accordingly  the  council,  com- 
posed of  representatives  of  the  churches  in  Groton,  Harap- 
stead,  Hollis,  Pepperell  and  Salem,  met  here,  more  than  a 
hundred  miles  distant,  and  on  Feb.  27,  1765,  he  was  installed, 
the  candidate  preaching  his  own  installation  sermon.  - 

As  some  of  our  citizen  soldiers  in  the  French  and  Indian 
wars  were  making  their  way  north,  passing  through  the  valley 
of  the  Pemigewasset,  it  would  seem  that  they  became  enam- 
oured with  its  broad  and  productive  meadows.  This  and  the 
spirit  of  emigration  that  brought  our  fathers  to  this  place, 
caused  eight  men  from  this  town  to  go  through  the  wilderness 
in  1762  to  what  is  now  Plymouth,  where  they  made  a  settle- 
ment. Others  went  the  next  spring  and  after,  until  about 
forty  of  our  citizens  had  made  themselves  homes  in  that  place. 
As  illustrating  the  hardships  of  the  journey  when  these  men 
took  their  families,  I  quote  from  a  statement  by  a  son  of  Cap- 
tain Jotham  Cummings,  one  of  these  early  settlers,  as  found 
in  Mr.  Hazen's  "Historical  Discourse  at  the  Centennial  An- 
niversary of  the  church  in  Plymouth." 

"My  mother  rode  through  from  Hollis  on  horseback, 
brought  a  child  on  her  lap,  and  baggage,  which  contained  all 
her  furniture  to  keep  house  with.     Their  sufferings  for  a  few 


19 

of  the  first  years  were  distressing.  They  had  to  go  to  the 
meadows  and  pull  wild  onions,  and  fry  them  in  the  fat  of  bear 
meat,  to  subsist  upon,  without  a  morsel  of  bread.  My  father, 
with  others,  went  to  Concord  on  snovvshoes,  with  hand-sleds, 
and  hauled  up  three  bushels  of  corn  meal  each  ;  and  for  a 
number  of  years — as  late  as  the  Revolutionary  war — I  well  re- 
member how  good  a  piece  of  bread  tasted  after  being  without 
it  for  three  weeks.  In  the  night  the  woods  would  resound 
with  the  howling  and  fighting  of  wolves  and  other  furious  an- 
imals; and,  what  was  worse,  alarms  would  frequently  come 
down  that  the  French  and  Indians  were  coming  down  upon 
us  from  Canada.  I  remember  well,  that  on  one  sabbath  they 
had  got  down  as  far  as  Haverhill,  and  were  hourly  expected 
here.  Every  man  who  had  a  gun  carried  it  to  the  meeting 
house,  where  were  assembled  the  women  and  children,  to 
seek  protection  in  the  sanctuary.  Though  not  five  years 
old,  I  walked  beside  my  mother,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms, 
three  miles  to  attend  meeting,  most  of  the  way  in  the  woods." 

These  early  settlers  came  back  to  Hollis  to  spend  the  first 
and  second  winters,  before  taking  their  families,  and  here, 
before  their  return  in  the  second  spring,  April  16,  1764,  the 
church  in  Plymouth  was  organized,  and  for  the  same  reason 
that  Rev.  Peter  Powers  was  installed  over  the  church  in  New- 
bury in  this  place. 

If  any  of  us  are  ever  tempted  to  feel  that  the  old  days  were 
better  than  these,  we  have  but  to  read  the  early  records  of  our 
churches  to  have  the  illusion  vanish.  Probably  they  were 
more  strict  in  the  observance  of  the  sabbath,  and  in  attend- 
ance on  sabbath  worship,  but  quarrelling,  intemperance  and 
licentiousness  were  exceedingly  common.  A  considerable 
part  of  the  early  records  is  taken  up  with  the  trials  of  these 
various  offenders.  The  records  of  this  church  show  a  good 
many  transactions  of  this  kind.  It  is  to  be  said  to  the  credit 
of  those  accused,  however,  that  in  most  instances  they  con- 
fessed their  sin,  asked  forgiveness,  and  were  restored  to  the 
fellowship  of  the  church.     Suppressing  names  and  dates,  let 


20 

me  give  you  two  of  these  confessions  as  a  sample  of  many, 
both  of  them  being  from  women  :  — 

"  Being  sensible  that  I  have  indulged  in  a  sinful  use  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  tending  to  an  intemperate  habit,  I  feel  it  to  be 
my  duty  and  privilege  to  confess  my  fault  to  God  and  to  this 
church,  resolving  by  divine  grace  to  repent  and  reform,  and 
asking  the  forgiveness  of  the  church.  I  request  their  prayers 
for  me,  that  through  Christ  I  may  obtain  forgiveness  of  this 
and  all  other  sins,  and  be  enabled  in  future  to  live  soberly, 
righteously,  and  godly  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  a  well-ordered 
life  and  conversation  evidence  repentance,  love  and  a  new 
obedience." 

"Christian  friends: — I  now  appear  before  you  to  acknowl- 
edge my  offence  in  departing  from  the  path  of  virtue  and  holi- 
ness, in  particular  for  a  breach  of  the  seventh  commandment, 
for  which  I  hope  I  truly  repent,  and  humbly  ask  the  forgive- 
ness of  "this  church  and  restoration  to  your  fellowship,  prayers, 
and  reproofs." 

The  fact  is  worth  recording  that  Amos  Kendall,  whose 
early  home  was  near  Salmon  brook  in  Dunstable,  and  who 
was  once  the  Fourth  Auditor  of  the  United  States  Treasury, 
and  afterward  Postmaster  General,  under  Jackson  and  Van 
Buren,  and  was  such  a  benefactor  to  the  deaf  and  dumb  of 
the  country,  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Emerson  in  this  church 
Aug.  16,  1787. 

Mr.  Emerson's  interest  in  the  young  was  manifested  in  his 
organizing  them  into  an  association  that  differed  little  from 
the  Endeavor  Societies  of  to-day,  except  that  its  membership 
was  confined  to  young  men.  The  date  of  the  organization  is 
lost,  but  it  must  have  been  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
from  the  names  appended  to  its  articles  it  would  appear  to 
have  been  in  existence  many  years  after.  The  articles  of 
association,  signed  by  forty-eight  persons,  thirteen  of  whom 
were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  will  be  found  on  pp. 
243,  244  of  "History  of  Hollis."   * 


*  A  similar  Association  had  been  previously   organized  about   1767,  in  Reading,  Mass. 
Mr.  Emerson's  native  place. 


21 

It  would  appear  that  there  were  revival  refreshings  in  1766, 
1772,  1  78  1  and  17SS-9,  and  very  likely  at  other  times.  From 
the  fact  that  so  man}-  had  died,  or  emigrated  to  Plymouth  or 
elsewhere,  and  that  the  church  numbered  about  two  hundred 
at  the  close  of  Mr.  Emerson's  ministry,  it  would  seem  that  he 
was  a  faithful  "fisher  of  men." 

But  the  time  came  when  the  good  man  found  the  burdens 
of  the  parish  and  church  too  much  for  him.  Whether  he 
asked  a  release,  or  the  people  first  proposed  a  colleague,  is 
not  known.  The  church  voted,  May  7,  1792,  "That  it  is 
their  desire  to  settle  a  minister  in  this  town  with  our  Rever- 
end pastor  Daniel  Emerson,  as  soon  as  God  in  his  providence 
may  direct.  Voted,  to  lay  the  above  vote  before  the  town, 
to  see  if  it  is  their  desire  to  join  with  us  in  settling  a  minister 
as  above,  and  if  the  said  town  agree  with  us,  then  to  desire 
this  town  to  join  with  us  in  setting  apart  a  day  for  fasting, 
humiliation  and  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  direction  in  this 
important  affair." 

As  a  result  of  this  Mr.  Eli  Smith,  who  had  previously  re- 
fused a  call  to  Pelham  (Samuel  Worcester,  a  native  of  this 
town  having  a  little  before  received  and  refused  a  call  to  the 
same  church),  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  this  church, 
and  was  ordained  and  installed  Nov.  27,  1793,  Mr.  Emerson 
remaining  senior  pastor  until  his  death,  Sept.  30,  1801.  The 
churches  invited  on  this  occasion  were  Belchertown,  Dracut, 
Franklin,  Medway,  Townsend,  Pepperell,  all  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  New  Ipswich.  Why  the  adjoining  churches  in  this 
state  were  not  called  it  is  not  easy  to  explain. 

Mr.  Smith  in  temperament  was  the  very  opposite  of  Mr. 
Emerson,  but  he  gave  himself  with  equal  earnestness  to  his 
work,  and  he  made  his  impress  for  good  upon  the  town. 
Prof.  Ralph  Emerson,  in  his  funeral  discourse,  says  of  him 
that  ' '  He  was  endowed  by  nature  with  a  most  ardent  temper- 
ament. Activity  was  his  life.  His  sensibilities  like  his  per- 
ceptions, were  as  quick  as  the  lightnings  flash."  His  thirty- 
seven  years  labor  here  were  blessed  with  numerous  revivals. 


22 

Previous  to  the  year  1800  about  one  hundred  had  united  with 
the  church.  In  the  years  1801  and  1802  there  was  a  remark- 
able work  of  grace,  the  most  powerful  the  church  ever  en- 
joyed, from  which  about  one  hundred  fifty  came  into  the 
church.  Regarding  this  revival  the  church  records  contain 
the  following : — 

"  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1801  there  were  indications 
of  a  reviving  spirit  in  the  church.  Christians  were  animated, 
and  were  led  to  trim  their  lamps  and  prepare  for  the  coming 
of  the  bridegroom.  Their  desires  enlarged,  and  their  hearts 
expanded,  while  they  raised  the  petition,  'O  Lord,  revive  thy 
work  in  the  midst  of  the  years,  in  the  midst  of  the  years  re- 
member mercy.'  And  when  the  blessing  came  it  exceeded 
the  most  sanguine  expectations.  The  heavens  were  opened, 
as  it  were,  and  the  Spirit  was  poured  down  in  large  measure. 
The  promise  of  God  was  abundantly  verified,  '  I  will  pour 
water  on  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground. 
I  will  pour  my  spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  upon 
thine  offspring,  and  they  shall  spring  up  as  among  the  grass, 
as  willows  by  the  water  courses.'  The  Spirit  was  not  con- 
fined in  his  operations  to  any  one  class,  or  to  any  one  part  of 
the  town  ;  all  classes  were  awakened,  and  every  neighborhood 
was  visited.  Opposition  retired  before  the  power  of  God's 
grace  ;  the  voice  of  caviling  was  hushed,  and  the  sneer  of 
the  scornful  was  abashed.  Sinners  in  Zion  trembled,  and 
fearfuluess  surprised  the  hypocrite.  The  voice  of  those  who 
were  wont  to  ridicule  was  either  changed  into  that  of  love  and 
gratitude,  or  was  hushed  in  wonder  and  astonishment.  This 
was  truly  a  Pentecostal  season,  and  the  church  was  seen  com- 
ing up  out  of  the  wilderness  leaning  on  the  arm  of  the  Be- 
loved." 

In  181 1  and  again  in  18 17  there  were  other  interesting  re- 
vivals, but  none  of  those  which  followed  were  as  powerful  as 
the  one  just  described. 

In  this  connection  I  may  as  well  speak  of  the  method  of 
conducting  revival  meetings  in  those  days.     Instead  of  send- 


23 

ing  for  an  evangelist,  neighboring  pastors  were  called  in,  and 
the>T  held  what  was  called  a  "protracted  meeting."  Three 
or  more  sermons  a  day  were  preached  by  as  many  persons, 
the  meetings  beginning  in  the  morning  and  continuing  all 
day,  for  several  days.  Then  "  inquiry  meetings  "  were  held, 
weekly  or  oftener,  together  with  such  extra  meetings  as  the 
pastor  himself  felt  able  to  conduct.  To  these  inquiry  meet- 
ings were  invited  all  who  were  anxious  about  their  spiritual 
condition,  and  it  often  occurred  that  the  decision  to  attend 
was  the  turning  point  in  one's  life. 

It  was  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Smith,  or  in  1801,  that 
the  Philanthropic  Society  was  organized,  although  it  was  not 
chartered  until  1814.  Its  object  was  to  secure  a  foundation 
for  the  perpetual  support  of  the  gospel  in  this  place.  But  its 
history  is  so  well  set  forth  in  the  town  history  that  it  needs 
only  to  be  mentioned  in  this  place.  It  now  has  invested  funds 
to  the  amount  of  $5,965. 

Shortly  after  the  great  revival  of  1 801-2,  the  people  began 
to  feel  the  need  of  better  church  accommodations,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  building  of  the  present  house,  though  not  as  we 
now  see  it.  The  master  workman  was  Nathan  Holt,  who 
lived  where  Mr.  Isaac  Vandyke  now  resides.  During  its 
erection  parts  of  the  old  house  were  moved  across  the  common 
to  the  school  house,  standing  where  Warren  Colburn's  house 
now  is,  and  set  up  against  its  front  door  ;  and  here  the  Sun- 
day services  were  held  until  the  house  was  completed,  the 
women  seated  in  the  school  house,  the  men  in  the  temporary 
building  at  the  door,  the  minister  standing  in  the  doorway. 
The  report  of  the  building  committee  is  still  in  existence,  from 
which  it  appears  that  its  total  cost  was  $7,049.35.  The  pews 
sold  for  $8,416.35,  besides  those  unsold  valued  at  $568.  The 
excess  of  receipts  over  cost  was  returned  to  those  who  had 
bought  pews,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  they  had  paid. 
The  house  was  originally  painted  yellow  or  straw  color,  so 
that  when  afterward  painted  white,  the  yellow  would  show 
through  for  a  long  time.  The  front  porch  for  many  years 
bore  the  gilt  sign,  "Built  1804." 


24 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  we  have  one  with  us  to-day  who 
remembers  the  raising  of  this  meeting  house,  the  venerable 
John  Coburn.  He  also  remembers  the  old  house,  and  on  one 
occasion  riding  to  the  service  within  with  his  grandfather, 
Lemuel  Hardy,  his  grandmother,  Hannah  (Jewett)  Hardy, 
on  a  pillion  behind,  and  himself  a  child  of  three  years  of  age 
in  front. 

In  1 8,1 2  the  General  Association  of  New  Hampshire  met  in 
this  place,  it  being  its  fourth  annual  meeting.  At  that  time 
the  New  Hampshire  Bible  Society  was  organized,  which  has 
done  so  much  for  the  dissemination  of  the  word  of  God  in  this 
state  and  elsewhere,  and  which  was  served  for  upward  of  forty 
years  so  faithfully  by  its  agent,  Dea.  William  Gilbert  Brown,  a 
native  of  this  place.  The  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  this  so- 
ciety was  held  here  in  September,  1887. 

As  indicating  the  sterling  character  of  the  young  women  of 
those  times,  and  what  they  were  thinking  about,  we  have  to 
record  the  organization,  Nov.  9,  1814,  of  the  "Female  Chari- 
table and  Reading  Society,"  which  has  survived  the  changes 
of  the  years,  and  come  down  to  the  present  day.  Its  first  re- 
cords are  extant,  and  from  them  I  give  you  the  preamble  :  — 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  feeling  the  importance  of  improving 
our  minds  in  useful  and  religious  knowledge,  of  cultivating 
friendly  and  benevolent  affections,  and  contributing  our  mites 
to  objects  of  charity,  do  hereby  form  ourselves  into  a  society 
for  the  purpose  of  reading  useful  and  religious  books,  and 
conversing  upon  the  same  ;  likewise  devoting  the  reading 
hours  to  some  useful  and  benevolent  employment,  and  in  that 
manner  endeavor  to  make  ourselves  more  valuable  members 
of  society  and  better  qualified  to  support  that  religion  which 
is  the  basis  of  all  virtue  and  happiness." 

From  the  "Rules,"  which  follow,  it  would  appear  that 
there  was  reading  by  each  person  in  turn,  in  alphabetical  or- 
der, for  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  a  few  moments  spent  in  con- 
versation on  what  had  been  read,  before  the  next  reader  took 
her  turn.     Thirty-eight  names  are  signed  to  this  document, 


25 

only  one  of  whom  is  known  to  be  living  to-day,  Catherine 
H.  Smith,  now  Mrs.  Rev.  Darwin  Adams. 

Bnt  what  did  they  read  ?  In  those  days  there  were  no 
stories  such  as  we  have,  and  had  there  been,  it  would  have 
been  thought  a  waste  of  time,  if  not  a  sin,  to  read  them. 
Oct.  19,  1817,  the  names  of  thirty-nine  volumes  are  recorded 
as  having  been  read  since  the  organization,  and  these  are  some 
of  them:  "Essay  on  Doing  Good,"  "History  of  Redemp- 
tion," a  poem,  "Mason  on  Self  Knowledge,"  "  Flavel  on 
Keeping  the  Heart,"  "Scott's  Force  of  Truth,"  etc.  We 
can  hardly  think  of  persons  who  read  books  like  these  en- 
gaging in  gossip  or  small  talk  of  any  kind ;  they  were  think- 
ing on  higher  themes. 

But  while  reading,  and  conversing  about  their  reading,  their 
busy  fingers  were  at  work,  sewing  and  knitting.  As  now, 
boxes  were  sent  to  need}*  missionaries,  and  clothing  and  sup- 
plies were  furnished  young  men  fitting  for  the  ministry, 
Dartmouth  College  and  Andover  Theological  Seminary  shar- 
ing with  other  institutions  in  these  gifts.  It  would  seem  that 
cravats  were  then  an  important  part  of  a  young  man's  outfit, 
for  there  are  frequent  records  of  gifts  of  these.  In  18 17  it  is 
recorded,  "Made  a  collection  of  $1.14,  which  was  expended 
for  six  cravats.  These,  together  with  twelve  pair  of  feeting 
were  sent  to  Andover."  At  the  next  meeting  they  "pieced 
and  quilted  a  bed  quilt  for  a  poor  woman,"  presumably  of 
Hollis.  Donations  of  yarn  and  of  wool,  which  they  spun,  are 
recorded.  In  1821  a  very  valuable  box  was  sent  to  the  Brain- 
ard  Mission  among  the  Cherokee  Indians  in  south  eastern 
Tennessee,  the  letter  which  accompanied  it  being  recorded. 

Since  1833  the  records  show  that  the  ladies  have  contributed 
over  $1,500  for  the  work  of  the  society,  and  that  over  seventy 
barrels  and  boxes  have  been  sent  to  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionaries, amounting  in  value  to  ^4,443.24,  besides  the  help 
that  has  been  furnished  needy  ones  at  home. 

In  1 82 1  a  bell  was  procured  by  private  subscription,  the 
list,  on  parchment,  being    still    in    existence.     Its  cost  was 


26 

$57°-36>  given  by  one  hundred  sixty  individuals.  This  bell 
was  unfortunately  cracked  some  thirty  years  after,  and  the 
present  bell  obtained,  which  is  said  not  to  be  nearly  so  sweet 
toned  as  the  former  one.*  Until  the  bell  was  procured  the 
town  had  depended  for  some  years  for  its  time  on  a  clock, 
with  a  dial  of  about  three  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  on  the 
gable  end  of  Dea.  Enos  Hardy's  barn,  across  the  road  from 
where  Sullivan  E.  Kimball  now  lives.  This  had  a  bell,  in 
form  like  the  bells  of  house  clocks  but  much  larger,  so  that 
its  striking  could  be  heard  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  more. 
This  clock  was  made  by  Abijah  Gould,  whose  home  was  hard 
by,  and  who  was  a  famous  maker  of  clocks  in  the  early  part  of 
the  century.  Whether  the  people  of  this  town  were  ever 
called  to  church  by  a  drum  or  horn,  as  was  the  custom  in  many 
places,  is  not  known,  but  it  is  probable  that  during  Mr.  Em- 
erson's ministry  the  beating  of  the  bass  drum  was  the  call  to 
the  house  of  God. 

As  showing  the  custom  in  other  places,  it  seems  that  Hav- 
erhill, Mass.,  once  voted  "that  Abraham  Tyler  blow  his  horn 
half  an  hour  before  meeting  on  the  Lord's  day  and  on  lecture 
days,  and  have  one  pound  of  pork  per  annum  from  each  fam- 
ily, for  the  same."  In  Westfield,  Mass.,  a  man  was  paid 
twenty-five  shillings  a  year  to  beat  the  drum  to  call  people  to 
meeting.  In  1816  the  first  bell  in  Sullivan  county  was  pro- 
cured, and  so  great  was  the  interest  in  it  that  people  went 
from  far  and  near  to  see  and  hear  it,  so  that  it  soon  got  the 
name  of  the  "  Meriden  idol." 

One  who  was  present  when  the  first  bell  was  raised  says : 
"  The  ropes  were  handled  by  an  old  sea  captain  from  '  Brim- 
stone Corner.'  They  drank,  they  cursed,  they  quarreled; 
indeed  it  was  the  mouth  of  hell.  Bad  as  is  the  world  to-day, 
it  is  better  now  than  then."  Another  says,  "Just  before  the 
bell  was  raised  Parson  Smith  came  out  of  his  house,  across 
the  common,  and  in  earnest  prayer  dedicated  the  bell  to 
God's  service." 

*It  is  said  that  the  crack   in  the  old  bell  was  afterward   sawed  out,  and  that  the   bell  is 
now  in  use  on  one  of  the  churches  in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston. 


27 

We  must  remember  that  in  those  days  there  was  no  method 
of  heating  the  meeting  houses.  How  our  fathers  could  sit 
through  those  long  services  without  a  fire  is  not  easy  for  us  to 
understand.  There  were  those  who  advocated  stoves,  but 
this  was  fought  by  a  few  with  all  their  powers,  as  an  innova- 
tion of  the  devil  designed  to  lull  into  religious  indifference. 
Our  grandmothers,  however,  did  not  propose  to  suffer  more 
than  was  necessary  if  their  lords  did,  and  so  they  provided 
themselves  with  "foot  stoves,"  a  little  tin  box,  perforated 
on  the  sides  and  top,  and  guarded  with  wooden  cleats,  in  which 
was  placed  a  dish  of  coals.  But  it  would  seem  that  the  men 
looked  upon  this  little  indulgence  with  an  unfavorable  eye, 
as  the  town  at  one  time  voted  to  confiscate  any  that  might  be 
left  in  the  meeting  house.  It  was  not  until  Dec.  28,  1830, 
that  the  town,  at  a  special  meeting,  voted  to  permit  indi- 
viduals to  place  stoves  in  the  house,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  locate  them. 

The  year  1826  was  memorable  throughout  New  England  on 
account  of  the  temperance  revival  that  swept  over  it,  sometimes 
known  as  the  "  Washingtonian  movement."  There  had  been 
something  of  a  temperance  sentiment  aroused  before  this  time ; 
for  thirty  years  the  people  had  been  slowly  opening  their  eyes. 
Among  its  early  advocates  in  this  town  were  Jesse  Worcester 
and  Thomas  Cummings.  But  it  was  not  until  1820  that  total 
abstinence  was  publicly  advocated  ;  previously  the  effort  had 
been  to  prevent  the  too  free  use  of  strong  drink.  This  tem- 
perance revival  reached  Hollis,  and  its  first  society  was  organ- 
ized in  1827.  Thomas  Cummings  was  its  president  for  many 
years.  The  early  records  were  lost,  it  is  supposed,  in  the 
burning  of  the  house  of  Hon.  Benj.  M.  Farley  in  1857.  If 
this  was  like  most  other  temperance  organizations  of  the  day 
it  did  not  call  for  the  disuse  of  cider,  wine  or  malt  liquors  ; 
indeed  some  of  the  most  earnest  workers  at  that  time  advoca- 
ted the  use  of  wine  as  a  preventive  of  intemperance. 

In  November,  1831,  the  church  adopted  the  following: 
' '  Believing  that  the  drinking  of  distilled  spirits  is  not  only 


2S 

unnecessary  but  injurious,  that  such  use  of  them  is  the  cause 
of  forming  intemperate  habits,  and  that  while  continued  the 
evils  of  intemperance  can  never  be  prevented,  and  believing 
also  that  intemperance  is  the  cause  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
pauperism  and  crime  which  fills  our  prisons  and  almshouses, 
and  that  much  of  the  wretchedness  of  individuals  and  families 
in  all  classes  of  society  may  be  traced  to  that  use ;  and  believ- 
ing furthermore  that  the  use  of  distilled  spirits  is  a  great 
hinderance  to  the  progress  of  the  spiritual  good  of  our  fellow- 
men,  therefore,  resolved, 

i — That  as  a  church  we  view  with  deep  regret  the  preva- 
lence of  intemperance  in  the  community. 

2 — That  we  heartily  approve  of  the  efforts  which  have  been 
made,  and  are  now  making,  to  remedy  the  evils  of  it,  and  pro- 
mote temperance, 

3 — That  as  professed  Christians  we  are  in  duty  bound  to 
throw  all  our  influence  on  the  side  of  those  who  are  engaged 
in  this  laudable  and  humane  enterprise 

4 — That  it  be  earnestly  recommended  to  the  members  of  this 
church  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  distilled  spirits,  except  as  a 
medicine. 

5 — That  the  making  a  public  profession  of  religion  be  con- 
sidered a  pledge  to  the  community  of  entire  abstinence  from 
the  use  of  them,  except  as  above  specified  ;  and  also  an  ex- 
pression of  a  determination  to  discountenance  in  all  suitable 
ways  the  use  of  them  in  the  community." 

Another  interesting  movement  had  been  going  on  in  the 
churches  of  New  England  for  a  good  many  years.  I  refer  to 
the  agitation  for  the  entire  separation  of  church  and  state. 
Many  were  coming  to  believe  that  the  church  or  congrega- 
tion, and  not  the  town,  should  support  the  ministry,  it  being 
a  plea  for  the  voluntary  principle.  Many  good  men  resisted 
it,  believing  it  would  be  fraught  with  danger.  But  it  made  its 
way  in  spite  of  opposition,  though  it  was  not  until  March  n, 
1830,  that  action  was  taken  which  severed  this  church  from  the 
town,    by  the  organization  of  "The  Evangelical   Congrega- 


29 

tional  Church  and  Society  in  Hollis."*  The  word  "church  " 
has.  however,  never  been  used  since  the  first  in  the  warrants 
for  the  meetings. 

In  the  year  1830,  having  passed  his  three-score  years  and 
ten,  it  was  thought  best  that  Mr.  Smith  should  be  relieved  by 
the  settlement  of  a  colleague.  Whether  this  movement  be- 
gan with  him  or  with  the  church,  the  records  are  silent,  al- 
though the  presumption  is  that  it  was  the  church,  as  it  is  re- 
corded, Sept.  6,  1830,  that  the  question  being  asked  in  church 
meeting,  "  Is  it  your  pleasure  that  Rev.  Eli  Smith  shall  re- 
tain his  pastoral  relation  to  you  as  senior  pastor  after  a  col- 
league shall  be  settled  ?  Voted  in  the  affirmative,  nineteen 
brothers  for,  six  against;  thirty  sisters  for,  none  against." 
After  a  pastoral  charge  of  thirty-seven  years  this  vote  reveals 
the  hold  he  had  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people.  But  Mr.  Smith 
evidently  thought  it  better  to  sever  his  pastoral  relations  with 
the  church,  and  accordingly  this  was  done  by  the  advice  of 
the  council  which  installed  Rev.  David  Perry,  who  came  to 
them  as  a  pastor,  from  the  church  in  Cambridgeport,  Mass. 

Mr.  Perry  was  a  faithful  and  earnest  minister,  and  his  work 
was  blessed  not  only  by  the  addition  of  upwards  of  one  hun- 
dred fifty  to  the  church,  but  by  bringing  about  many  improve- 
ments, and  getting  the  church  into  a  better  working  condi- 
tion. The  church  adopted,  Nov.  25,  183 1,  a  new  Confession 
of  Faith  and  Covenant,  and  on  May  5,  1837,  Rules  for  the 
Practice  and  Discipline  of  the  church,  both  of  which  were 
printed.  This  Confession  of  Faith  is  virtually  the  same  as 
the  one  adopted  and  printed  in  1805,  but  the  Covenant  was 
materially  changed. 

For  some  time  it  had  been  the  custom  to  have  eight  com- 
munion services  in  the  year,  but  in  1S31  the  church  voted  to 
observe  them  on  the  first  Sabbath  of  each  alternate  month. 
This,  however,  was  so  strongly  opposed  that  the  next  year 
they  returned  to  the  original  number,  holding  them  on  the 
first  Sabbaths  of  January,  April,  July  and  October,  and  the 

*The  state  legislature   passed  a  law  July  3,  1827,  permitting  the  separation  of  the  church 
from  the  town. 


3Q 

third  Sabbaths  of  February,  May,  August  and  November. 
In  1834  they  were  reduced  to  six,  and  were  held  on  the  same 
date  as  now,  and  took  the  place  of  the  afternoon  service. 

In  January,  1836,  was  organized  the  "  Hollis  Benevolent 
Association,"  its  object  being  to  furnish  aid  to  the  various 
charitable  religious  organizations  of  the  day.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  in  those  days  it  was  considered  almost  sacre- 
ligious  to  raise  money  on  the  Lord's  day,  even  for  the  most 
worthy  purpose,  as  it  savored  too  much  of  the  world ;  hence 
all  contributions  were  made  by  personal  solicitation  during 
the  week.  When  the  practice  of  Sunday  contributions  was 
introduced  here  it  is  related  of  one  man,  with  more  zeal  than 
wisdom,  that  he  attempted  to  upset  the  arrangement  by  up- 
setting the  hat  that  was  being  passed,  and  scattering  the  con- 
tents upon  the  floor,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  friends,  but 
to  the  amusement  of  the  opponents,  of  the  new  method. 

It  would  be  interesting  if  we  could  know  just  how  much  the 
church  has  given  for  benevolent  objects  away  from  home,  but 
no  data  is  at  hand  to  furnish  this  information.  It  is  found, 
however,  that  since  1853  at  least  $14,285.00  has  been  contrib- 
uted. In  this  connection  and  as  showing  the  interest  of  the 
fathers  in  foreign  missions  at  an  early  date,  it  is  worth  men- 
tioning that  Henry  Obookiah,  a  native  Sandwich  Islander 
who  had  come  to  this  country  for  instruction  long  before  a  mis- 
sion was  established  there,  spent  some  time  in  town,  probably 
about  1815  or  1816.  His  presence  and  anxiety  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  his  own  people,  must  have  stimulated  the  interest  of 
this  people  in  missions. 

When  prayer  meetings  were  first  introduced  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  We  find  soon  after  Mr.  Perry's  coming  that  the 
church  voted  to  observe  a  prayer  meeting  on  the  first  Wednes- 
day afternoon  of  every  month,  at  2  o'clock.  But  it  is  certain 
that  Mr.  Smith  held  prayer  and  conference  meetings  on  Sun- 
day evenings  at  the  center  school  house,  and  a  mid-week 
meeting  at  his  own  house  for  a  long  time  ;  also  school  house 
meetings  on  Sundays  and  week  days  as  they  seemed  to  be  de- 


3i 

manded,  with  "lectures"  at  regular  intervals.  It  is  also 
probable  that  at  one  time  "sunrise  prayer  meetings"  were 
held,  but  on  what  occasions,  or  for  how  long  a  period,  it  is 
impossible  to  say. 

During  Mr.  Perry's  ministry  a  "  Maternal  Association"  was 
organized,  it  being  a  mothers'  meeting  for  prayer  for,  and 
mutual  aid  in  training  their  children.  And  in  this  connec- 
tion I  may  speak  of  the  women's  prayer  meetings  held  during 
Mr.  Smith's  pastorate,  at  first  with  Madame  Emerson,  and 
after  her  death  with  Mrs.  Smith.  Once  a  year  it  was  their  cus- 
tom to  spend  a  whole  day  together  in  fasting  and  prayer. 
How  many  years  these  meetings  were  kept  up  it  is  not  known. 
In  those  days  it  was  regarded  as  a  great  impropriety  for  a 
woman  to  speak  in  any  meeting  where  men  were  present,  but 
it  appears  that  one  of  the  sisters  of  this  church  felt  called  upon 
to  exhort,  and  being  forbidden  by  Mr.  Perry  she  asked  for  let- 
ters and  was  dismissed  to  a  church  where  she  could  enjoy  this 
privilege. 

In  1837  the  question  of  providing  a  vestry  was  agitated, 
and  the  church  went  so  far  as  to  purchase  a  lot  containing 
twenty-two  hundred  fifty  feet,  just  east  of  the  meeting  house, 
but  for  some  reason  the  contract  was  thrown  up  on  an  agree- 
ment that  the  land  should  go  into  the  common. 

One  custom  prevailed  at  this  time  that  had  come  down 
through  a  good  many  years,  that  would  strike  the  young  peo- 
ple of  to-day  as  exceedingly  unique.  Every  intention  of 
marriage  must  be  published  three  times  in  church  before  this 
parties  could  wed.  Some  time  before  the  sermon  the  town 
clerk  would  arise,  and  in  distinct  tones  announce,  "  Marriage 
is  intended  between  John  Smith  and  Sarah  Jones."  This 
custom  certainly  had  a  tendency  to  prevent  hasty  and  illy-con- 
sidered marriages.  Whenever  a  death  occurred,  the  follow- 
ing Sabbath  the  members  of  the  stricken  household  would  all 
l»e  at  church  to  hear  the  minister  read  a  note  they  had  already 
placed  in  his  hands,  to  the  effect  that,  "George  Brown  hav- 
ing departed  this  life,  the  afflicted  family  ask  the  prayers  of 


32 

this  congregation  that  the  event  may  be  sanctified  to  their 
spiritual  good."  When  a  child  was  born,  a  similar  note  of 
thanksgiving  for  a  safe  delivery  and  for  the  birth  of  a  child 
was  sometimes  read  from  the  pulpit. 

After  eleven  years  of  faithful  service  Mr.  Perry  felt  that  his 
work  here  was  done,  and  so  in  1842  he  resigned.  It  was  im- 
possible for  a  man  of  such  strong  convictions  and  such  a  keen 
sense  of  duty  not  to  offend  some.  Notwithstanding  this  the 
majority  of  people  thoroughly  appreciated  the  man  and  his 
work,  and  felt  that  he  had  left  behind  an  imperishable  influ- 
ence for  good. 

Mr.  Charles  Lord,  who  was  graduated  from  Andover  Semi- 
nary that  year,  was  then  called,  but  declined.  He  went  west, 
where  he  labored  twelve  years,  and  then  returned  to  Massachu- 
setts for  further  work,  where  he  died  in  1872. 

In  1843  Mr.  James  Aiken,  then  one  year  out  of  the  semi- 
nary, became  your  pastor.  Though  the  church  was  unani- 
mous in  its  call,  a  portion  of  the  society  was  opposed  to  his 
coming,  eighteen  members  signing  a  protest  against  it.  Con- 
sequently his  ministry  was  not  as  harmonious  as  one  should 
be.  He  failed  to  unite  the  people,  and  opposition  increased 
rather  than  otherwise,  causing  him  to  resign  in  1848.  He 
was  a  man  of  fine  appearance,  from  a  family  noted  for  its  mu- 
sical abilities.  Mr.  Aiken  was  himself  an  excellent  singer, 
and  had  taught  singing  considerably  before  coming  here. 
During  his  five  years  with  us  he  did  not  a  little  to  awaken 
interest  in  sacred  music,  and  he  is  remembered  to-day  more 
from  what  he  did  in  this  line  than  for  anything  else. 

Mr.  Matthew  D.  Gordon,  a  native  of  Scotland,  followed  him 
in  1849,  but  as  his  health  was  infirm  his  stop  with  the  people 
covered  only  a  little  more  than  three  years. 

For  some  years  previous  to  his  coming  the  question  had 
been  agitated  of  making  a  change  in  the  meeting  house,  so  as 
to  render  it  somewhat  more  modern  in  style.  The  town  by  a 
deed  of  Nov.  22,  1849,  relinquished  to  the  society  the  owner- 
ship of  so  much  as  was  needed  for  religious  purposes,  and  al- 


33 

lowed  certain  alterations  to  be  made.  The  house  was  turned 
one  quarter  around,  so  the  west  side  faced  the  south,  where 
it  was  extended  so  as  to  include  the  belfry,  which  before  had 
been  a  porch  as  well.  The  porches,  formerly  on  the  south 
and  east,  and  the  galleries,  were  removed,  a  floor  was  laid  on 
a  level  with  the  former  galleries  so  as  to  make  two  stories,  a 
gallery  was  built  for  the  singers  in  the  south  end, — it  being 
the  form  in  which  we  now  see  it.  This  involved  an  expense, 
including  the  appraisal  of  the  old  pews,  of  $7,059.98.  This 
was  raised  by  selling  the  stock  at  $10  per  share  to  prospective 
pew-holders  and  others,  and  this  stock  was  received  as  so 
much  toward  a  new  pew.  The  sum  of  $6,000  was  thus  taken 
in  stock.  The  new  pews  were  appraised  to  cover  the  cost, 
and  the  choice  being  sold  at  auction,  $955.25  was  received, 
which  was  used  in  carpeting  and  upholstering. 

Soon  after,  or  in  June,  1852,  the  house  since  occupied  as  a 
parsonage,  was  bought  by  a  syndicate  of  eighteen  persons, 
the  property  being  divided  into  forty  shares.  These  shares 
were  gradually  given  to.  or  bought  by,  the  society,  or  came 
into  the  possession  of  Dea.  Noah  Farley,  who  afterward  gave 
them  to  the  society,  so  that  in  1879  it  became  the  sole  owner. 
The  original  cost  of  the  house,  including  repairs  to  fit  it  for 
the  occupancy  of  your  ministers,  was  $2,470. 

Rev.  Pliny  B.  Day,  whose  genial  face  is  still  remembered 
by  so  many,  was  installed  by  the  same  council  that  dismissed 
Mr.  Gordon.  He  came  at  a  time  when  the  church  was  ripe 
for  better  things  ;  the  work  of  preparation  had  been  done,  and 
the  harvest  was  ready  for  reaping.  A  revival  of  great  power 
began  almost  immediately,  from  which  about  fifty  came  into 
the  church.  This  was  followed  by  another  extensive  out- 
pouring of  the  spirit  in  1858,  which  brought  about  seventy- 
five  more  into  the  church,  many  of  whom  are  with  us  still. 
This  work  began  with  meetings  in  the  Bailey  district,  which 
was  formerly  regarded  as  the  stronghold  of  religion  in  the 
town.  Many  of  you  will  remember  the  earnestness  of  Dea. 
Isaac  Farley  at  that  time,  his  going  about  from  house  to  house 
to  plead  with  men  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  and  when  he  was 


34 

rebuffed,  kneeling  on  the  doorstep  as  he  went  out,  and  pray- 
ing for  the  inmates  as  though  the}-  had  been  his  own  children. 
During  Dr.  Day's  ministry  upwards  of  two  hundred  were 
brought  into  the  church,  though  this  does  not  tell  the  whole 
story  of  his  work.  Impressions  were  made,  unseen  influences 
for  good  started,  that  since  have  ripened  into  nobler,  purer, 
living.  He  will  long  be  remembered  as  the  genial  gentleman, 
the  sympathizing  friend,  the  faithful  pastor,  and  the  earnest 
preacher.  He  did  much  for  the  schools  while  here,  being  al- 
most continuously  one  of  the  school  committee.  He  was 
loved  by  all  his  people  as  few  pastors  are  loved.  As  his  miu- 
isty  covered  the  period  of  the  civil  war  he  did  not  a  little  to 
instill  principles  of  patriotism  in  the  minds  of  his  people. 
The  esteem  with  which  he  was  held  was  evinced  in  the  plac- 
ing a  tablet  to  his  memory  at  the  left  of  the  pulpit  where  he 
had  so  long  and  faithfully  proclaimed  the  gospel.  It  was  a 
sad  day  for  this  people,  July  6,  1869,  when  Dr.  Day  was 
called  to  his  reward.  Not  only  this  town,  but  many  others, 
mourned  his  loss.  Faithful  counsellor  that  he  was,  he  was 
often  called  on  to  give  advice  to  those  out  of  town.  In  1863 
he  was  placed  on  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Dartmouth  College, 
though  not  a  graduate  of  that  institution ;  from  it  he  received 
the  degree  of  D.  D.  in  1865. 

The  year  following  Dr.  Day's  death,  or  in  1S70,  Rev.  John 
L.  Merrill  was  called  to  the  pastorate  but  declined.  He  is 
now  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Newbury,  Vt.,  whose  first 
minister,  Rev.  Peter  Powers,  was  from  this  town.  A  few 
months  after  Mr.  Merrill  declined,  in  the  same  year,  came  Mr. 
Laird,  a  faithful  and  earnest  preacher,  and  wonderfully  gifted 
in  prayer.  Soon  after  he  came  the  Confession  of  Faith  and 
Covenant  of  the  church  was  revised,  and  with  a  catalogue  of 
the  members  in  1831  and  those  since  joining,  was  printed. 
During  Mr.  Laird's  ministry  of  four  years  about  forty  were 
brought  into  the  church.  It  appears  that  his  situation  here 
in  some  respects  was  not  agreeable,  for  in  December,  1872, 
he  resigned,  but  by  advice  of  a  mutual  council  he  remained. 
He  renewed  his  resignation  in  December,  1873,  but  before  it 


35 

was  acted  upon  he  was  taken  with  the  illness  that  terminated 
in  his  death  Aug.  20,  1874.  The  tender  love  of  his  people, 
their  loyalty  and  faithfulness  to  him  during  his  last  days, 
stand  recorded  on  the  records  of  the  church,  as  are  the  words 
of  appreciation  that  came  from  the  stricken  members  of  his 
own  household.  During  his  long  illness  his  pulpit  was  sup- 
plied gratuitously,  for  the  benefit  of  his  family,  by  the  Hollis 
Association.  His  last  sermon  was  a  former  one  repeated  by 
request  from  1  John  3.  2  : — "Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons 
of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we 
know  that  when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

In  1875  Rev.  Walter  Rice,  now  of  Agawam,  Mass.,  was 
called,  but  declined.  Then  came  Rev.  Hiram  L.  Kelsey,  who 
before  had  been  connected  with  the  Methodist  denomination. 
Sixty-six  persons  united  with  the  church  during  his  ministry. 
He  is  so  well  remembered  by  most  of  you  that  I  will  not  stop 
to  characterize  him  except  to  say  that  he  excelled  in  his  pul- 
pit and  social  powers,  and  had  more  of  what  might  be  called 
the  evangelistic  methods  than,  perhaps,  any  other  minister 
you  ever  had.     He  was  dismissed  in  February,  1879. 

In  July  following,  Mr.  Barker  B.  Sherman,  just  from  the 
Seminary,  and  now  pastor  at  Chelsea,  Vt.,  was  invited  to  be- 
come your  pastor  but  did  not  accept. 

After  candidating  about  a  year ,  Rev.  Darius  B.  Scott  was 
installed.  Twenty-eight  were  added  to  the  church  during  the 
five  years  he  was  here.  During  his  pastorate,  in  1883,  the 
meeting  house  was  thoroughly  repaired  and  renovated,  the 
organ  moved  from  the  gallery  to  its  present  position,  the  house 
newly  frescoed,  and  the  seats  upholstered,  all  at  an  expense 
of  about  $2,000.  On  the  occasion  of  the  first  communion 
after  returning  to  the  house,  the  first  Sabbath  in  Novem- 
ber, a  beautiful  plated  communion  set  was  presented  by 
Miss  Sarah  Conant,.  a  member  of  the  church,  since  de- 
ceased, and  a  grand-daughter  of  Dea.  Josiah  Conant,  one  of 
the  early  deacons  of  the  church.  This  took  the  place  of  a 
britannia  set  that  had  been  in  use  since  October,  1831,  costing 


36 

at  the  time  $31.75.  By  a  vote  of  the  church  the  old  set  was 
given  in  1886,  to  a  missionary  church  in  Nebraska,  and  by 
that  church  was  divided  with  two  others,  so  that  it  is  now 
used  by  three  churches.  In  this  connection  I  would  say  that 
the  two  cups  with  handles  now  in  use  are  of  solid  silver,  and 
were  given  by  Dea.  William  Emerson,  at  some  date  not  yet 
ascertained.  The  set  in  use  previous  to  1831  is  understood 
to  have  been  distributed  among  members  of  the  church,  and 
a  part  of  it  is  still  in  existence. 

Mr.  Scott  left  in  December,  18S4,  and  for  fourteen  months 
the  church  was  without  a  pastor.  How  many  candidates 
ascended  the  pulpit  stairs  during  that  time  is  not  recorded, 
but  their  number  was  legion.  Among  these  Rev.  Frederick 
W.  Ernst,  now  principal  of  Dow  Academy,  Frauconia,  was 
called,  but  declined  to  accept. 

Your  present  pastor  came  in  1886.  The  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  was  organized  May  9,  18S7, 
and  a  new  church  manual  was  adopted  the  following  year. 
Evangelistic  meetings  conducted  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Nathan  H. 
Harriman  and  Robert  F.  True,  were  held  in  the  summer  of 
1889,  resulting  in  the  bringing  of  about  sixty  into  the  church. 
Windows  were  placed  in  the  church  in  1890  in  memorial  of 
Rev.  Daniel  Emerson,  Rev.  Eli  Smith,  Rev.  David  Perry  , 
Rev.  James  and  Mrs.  L,aura  G.  L,aird,  Dea.  Phillips  and  Mrs. 
Dorothy  Wood,  Deacons  Josiah  and  Abel  Conant,  Jonathan 
T.  Wright,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Butterfield,  and  in  the  vestibule, 
furnished  by  the  town,  of  Peter  Powers  and  Abraham  Taylor, 
and  Captains  Reuben  Dow  and  Nathan  Ames. 

We  now  have  hastily  run  over  the  one  hundred  fifty  years 
of  our  church  history.  Much  of  interest  there  is  of  which 
there  has  been  no  time  to  speak  ;  much  more,  too,  that  never 
can  be  recorded  in  the  annals  of  earth.  Who  is  able  to  reck- 
on the  prayers  and  tears,  the  sweet  influences  for  good,  and 
even  those  other  influences  which  have  tended  in  the  opposite 
direction,  but  all  of  which  have  been  recorded  in  God's  book 
of  remembrance,  and  which  shall  be  revealed  by  him  when- 
ever it  seems  good  to  him?     Our  fathers  labored  and  we  have 


37 

entered  into  their  labors.  They  have  fallen  asleep,  leaving 
with  us  the  work  to  carry  on.  We  shall  soon  be  with  them, 
so  that  what  we  do  we  must  do  quickly.  The  two  hundredth 
anniversary  will  soon  be  here,  and  at  that  time,  for  most  of 
us  the  things  that  now  seem  of  greatest  importance  will  as- 
sume very  small  proportions,  and  things  we  now  are  apt  to 
neglect  will  seem  to  be  of  most  consequence.  God  grant  that 
we  may  transmit  to  our  children  this  heritage  of  our  fathers, 
not  only  "without  spot  or  wrinkle,"  but  that  by  our  labors 
we  may  add  to  its  beauty  and  lustre,  so  that  as  they  gather 
fifty  years  from  to-day,  they  may  be  able  to  say  of  us  that  we 
have  done  well  for  Christ's  sake. 


PASTORS  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Daniel  Emerson,  ordained  April  20,  1743  ;  died  Sept.  30,  1801. 
Eli  Smith,  ordained  Nov.  27,  1793;  dismissed  Feb.  23,  1831. 
David  Perry,  installed  Feb.  23,  1831  ;  dismissed  June  13,  1842. 
James  Aiken,  ordained  Aug.  30,  1843  ;  dismissed  July  3,  1848. 
Matthew  D.  Gordon,  installed  Mar.  21,  1849;  dismissed  July 

7,   1852. 
Pliny  B.  Day,  D.  D.,  installed  July  7,  1852  ;  died  July  6,  1869. 
James  Laird,  installed  May  25,  1870;  died  Aug.  20,  1874. 
Hiram  L.  Kelsey,  installed  June  1,  1875;  dismissed  Feb.  24, 

1878.. 
Darius  B.  Scott,  installed  Sept.  25,  1879;   dismissed  Dec.  23, 

1884. 
Samuel  L,.  Gerould,  installed  April  14,  1886. 

MINISTERS  RAISED  IN  HOEEIS. 
The  towns  mentioned  are  the  places  of  ministerial  labor. 

Peter  Powers,  b.  Nov.  29,  1728;  Newent,  Conn.,  Newbury* 
Vt.,  Deer  Isle,  Me.;    d.  May  13,  1800. 

Josiah  Goodhue,  b.  ,    1729;    Dunstable,   Mass.,   Putney, 

Vt.;  d.  Nov.  14,  1797. 

Henry  Cummings,  D.  D.,  b.  Sept.  16,  1739;  Billerica,  Mass.; 
d.  Sept.  5,  1823. 

Noah  Worcester,  D.  D.,  b.  Nov.  28,  1758;  Thornton,  Salis- 
bury, editor  and  writer;   d.  Oct.  31,  1837. 

Joseph  Wheat,  b.  July  18,  1759;  Grafton;  d.  Oct.  28,  1837. 

Joseph  Emerson,  b.  Sept.  28,  1759;  licensed  but  never  or- 
dained; d.  July  27,  1781. 


39 

Josiah  Burge,  b.  April  15,  1766;  licensed  but  never  ordained ; 

d.  Mar.   24,  1790. 
Leonard   Worcester,  b.  Jan.  1,  1767;   Peacham,    Vt.,  etc;    d. 

May  28,  1846. 
Thomas   Worcester,   b.    Nov.   22,    1768;    Salisbury,    etc.;    d. 

Dec.  24,  1831. 
David    Smith,    b.   Sept.  48,    1769;  Temple,   Me.,   Meredith; 

d.  Aug.  18,  1824. 
Samuel  Worcester,  D.  D.,  b.  Nov.  1,  1770;  Fitchburg,  Mass., 

Salem,  Mass.,  Secretary  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.;  d.  June  7,  1821. 
Daniel  Emerson,  Jr.,  b.  July   15,    1771  ;   Dartmouth,   Mass.; 

d.  Nov.  16,  1808. 
David  Brown,  b.  April,  4,  1773;  evangelist;   d.  unknown. 
Abel  Farley,   b.  July   17,    1773;    Manchester,   Vt.,   Goshen, 

Mass.;  d.  Mar.  22,  1S17. 
David  Jewett,  b.  Aug.  16,  1773;  Rockport,  Mass.;  d.  July  16, 

1 84 1. 
Joseph  Emerson,  2nd,  b.  Oct.  13,  1777;   Beverly,  Mass.,  By- 
field,    Mass.,    Saugus,  Mass.,    Weathersfield,    Conn.;    d. 

May  13.  1833. 
Mighill  Blood,  b.  Dec.  13,  1777;    Bucksport,  Me.;  d.  April  6, 

1852. 
Stephen  Farley,  Jr.,  b.  Oct.  24,  1779;   Claremont,  Atkinson  ; 

d.  Sept.  20,  1851. 
Caleb  J.  Tenney,  D.   D.,  b.   May  3,  1780;   Newport,   R.    I., 

Weathersfield,  Conn.,   Agent  Am.  Col.  Soc;  d.  Sept.  28, 

1847. 
Fifield  Holt,  b.  Mar.    27,1784;    Bloomfield,  Me.;   d.  Nov.  15, 

1830. 
Grant  Powers,  b.  Mar.  31,  1784;   Haverhill,  Goshen,   Conn.; 

d.  April  10,  1841. 
Daniel   Kendrick,  b.   Mar.    30,    1785;   Pittston,  Me.;   d.  Mar. 

14,  1868. 
Eli  Smith,  b.  July  16,    1787;    Frankfort,    Ky.,   Paris,  Ky.;  d. 

Oct.  23,  1839. 
Ralph  Emerson,   D.  D.,   b.   Aug.    iS,   1787;    Norfolk,    Conn., 


40 

Professor  Andover  Theological   Seminary;   d.    May   20, 
1863. 

Samuel    Ambrose,  b.  ;     Sutton,    Home    Missionary;    d. 

May  30,  1830. 

Leonard  Jewett,  b.  Oct.  2,  1787;  Home  Missionary  in  New 
York  and  New  Hampshire,    Temple;   d.  Feb.    16,    1862. 

William  P.  Kendrick,  b.  Jan.  20,  1794;  Home  Missionary  in 
New  York,  Bristol,  111.;   d.  Nov.  5,  1854. 

Jacob  Hardy,  b.  Nov.  14,  1795;  Strong,  Me.;  d.  Mar.  1,  1833. 

David  P.  Smith,  b.  Sept.  20,  1795;  Sandwich,  Parsonfield, 
Greenfield;  d.  Oct.  11,  1850. 

Solomon  Hardy,  b.  Sept.  27,  1796;  Home  Missionary  in  Illi- 
nois and  Massachusetts;  d.  Sept.  18,  1842. 

Taylor  G.  Worcester,  b.  April  6,  1799;  licensed  but  not  or- 
dained;  d.  Sept.  7,  1879. 

Eli  N.  Sawtell,  D.  D.,  b.  Sept.  8,  1799  ;  Louisville,  Ky.;  agent 
American  Seaman  Friend  Society,  Havre,  France,  Sara- 
toga, N.  Y.;  d.  April  6,  1885. 

Luther  Smith,  b.  Aug.  11,  1800;  Zanesville,  O. 

Phillips  Wood,  b.  July  12,  1S01  ;  Bloutsville,  Tenn.,  Piqua, 
O.;  d.  June  11,  1856. 

Henry  A.  Worcester,  b.  Sept.  22,  1802  ;  Abington,  Mass., 
Portland,  Me.;  d.  May  24,  1841. 

Joseph  Emerson,  b.  Sept.  4,  1S08;  Agent  and  Secretary  Be- 
nevolent Societies,  Rockford,  111.;  d.  July  21,  1885. 

Henry  H.  Saunderson,  b.  Sept.  1,  1810;  Ludlow,  Vt.,  Wall- 
ingford,  Vt.,  Charlestown,  Swanzey  ;  d.  Jan.  25,  1890. 

Thomas  A.  Farley,  b.  July  8,  18 13,  ;  died  immediately  after 
graduating,  Aug.  26,  1841. 

William  P.  Eastman,  b.  Sept.  20,  1813  ;  New  Comerstown, 
O.,  Union,  O.;  d.  Oct.  2,  1887. 

Edward  Johnson,  b.  Oct.  13,  1813 ;  Missionary  Sandwich 
Islands;  d.  Sept.  1,  1867. 

Charles  Cummings,  b.  June  7,  1817  ;  licensed  but  never  or- 
dained ;  teacher,  Medford,  Mass. 

Amos  F.  Shattuck,  b.  July  9,  1832  ;  Home  Missionary,  Dur- 
ham, Me.,  Worcester,  Vt.,  Hatchville,   Mass. 


SKETCH  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

DEACON  EXOQH  J.   COEBURN. 


"The  records  of  the  Sunday  School  connected  with  the 
church  in  Hollis,  during-  the  first  years  of  its  existence,  have  not 
been  preserved,  and  we  do  not  know  the  date  of  its  introduc- 
tion, who  its  officers  were,  whether  it  lived  under  a  constitu- 
tion or  not,  there  being  but  very  few  now  living  who  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  school  earlier  than  1830.  The  person 
who  can  give  the  earliest  date  of  its  existence  is  Mrs.  Cath- 
erine IT.  Adams,  who  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Eli 
Smith,  now  ninety  years  old  and  more,  who  remembers  hav- 
ing a  class  of  six  little  girls  in  the  gallery  of  the  meeting  house 
in  1820.  She  remembers  her  grief  at  the  death  of  one  of 
these  girls  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  Taking  this  date,  we 
can  readily  judge  that  the  church  in  Hollis  was  among  the 
first  to  engage  in  the  Sunday  school  work. 

The  work  of  the  school  at  its  beginning,  and  for  twenty 
years  afterward,  was  the  committing  and  reciting  verses  of 
Scripture  and  the  Assembly 's  Shorter  Catechism.  A  catechism 
prepared  by  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson,  who  was  a  son  of  Dea. 
Daniel  Emerson,  was  also  used  in  some  of  the  classes. 

It  was  the  teacher's  duty  to  hear,  and  make  a  record  of  the 
number  of  verses  recited  by  each  pupil,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
term  in  the  autumn  the  pastor,  from  the  desk  on  the  Sabbath, 
or  at  a  meeting  held  for  that  purpose,  announced  the  name 
and  number  of  verses  recited  by  each  pupil.  We  are  told  by 
one  of  the  pupils  in  those  times,  that  more  than  sixty  years 
have  not  effaced  the  memory  of  the  anxiety  of  that  trying  day 


42 

when,  after  having  exerted  themselves  during  the  season, 
that  they  might  stand  at  or  near  the  head,  they  found  them- 
selves far  behind.  Some  of  the  pupils  succeeded  in  reciting 
a  remarkable  number  of  verses,  which  number  was  published 
in  The  Farmer's  Cabinet,  and  attracted  wide  attention  and 
comment.  The  sessions  of  the  school  were  held  only  during 
the  warmer  months  of  the  }rear,  for  the  first  twenty-five  years. 
The  school  was  reorganized  about  the  first  of  May  each  year, 
when  new  combinations  in  classes  were  formed  and  new 
teachers  chosen. 

The  constitution  of  the  present  Sunday-school  was  adopted 
April  5,  1830,  under  the  name  of  "The  Auxiliary  Sabbath 
School  of  Hollis,"  it  being  auxiliary  to  the  "  New  Hampshire 
Sabbath  School  Union."  It  continued  under  this  name  for 
thirty-one  years,  when  the  "  New  Hampshire  Sabbath  School 
Union"  having  ceased  to  exist,  its  name  was  changed  to 
"  The  Sabbath  School  of  the  Evangelical  Congregational  So- 
ciety of  Hollis,"  which  name  it  retained  for  twenty-seven 
years,  when,  in  1888,  the  word  "  Society"  was  stricken  out, 
and  the  word  "  Church  "  substituted,  and  so  it  has  remained 
to  the  present  time. 

The  annual  meeting  for  the  choice  of  officers  and  transac- 
tion of  business  was  held  "  at  the  intermission  between 
services  on  the  day  of  the  annual  Fast,"  and  continued  to  be 
held  on  that  day  until  1851,  when,  without  altering  the  con- 
stitution, so  far  as  we  know,  it  was  not  held  until  the  17th  of 
June,  when  it  was  voted  that  "  The  annual  meeting  be  held 
on  the  first  Monday  in  May  after  the  Monthly  Concert."  In 
1853a  vote  was  passed  "that  the  officers  call  the  annual 
meeting  when  they  think  best,"  and  in  1854  and  1855  the 
meetings  were  held  during  the  first  week  in  May.  In  1856  a 
return  was  made  to  "Fast  day,"  and  continued  until  1883, 
when  the  constitution  was  changed  to  have  the  annual  meet- 
ing held  on  the  last  Sundaj'  in  December  in  each  year. 

The  officers  of  the  school  are  a  president,  a  secretary,  who 
also  acts  as  treasurer,  and  for  the  first  forty  years  acted  also 
as  librarian,  a   superintendent   and  three  directors.     In  1870 


43 

the  constitution  was  changed,  making  the  librarian  a  separate 
officer. 

The  first  meeting  held  under  the  constitution  was  on  the 
13th  of  May,  1830,  when  Capt.  Daniel  Bailey  was  chosen  pres- 
ident, Jonathan  T.  Wright,  secretary,  treasurer  and  libra- 
rian, Ephraim  Burge,  superintendent,  and  Capt.  William 
Brown,  Isaac  Farley  and  Dea.  Thomas  Farley,  directors. 

The  persons  who  have  acted  as  president  are  Capt.  Daniel 
Bailey,  Dea.  Phillips  Wood,  Thomas  Cummings,  Dea.  Aaron 
Hardy,  Dr.  Oliver  Scripture,  Leonard  Willoby,  Alpheus 
Eastman,  Dea.  Isaac  Farley,  Rev.  Pliny  B.  Day,  D.  D., 
Rev.  David  Perry,  Rev.  James  Laird,  Dea.  James  D.  Hills, 
Rev.  Darius  B.  Scott,  James  E.  Hills,  Dea.  Enoch  Colburn, 
and  Rev.  Samuel  L.  Gerould.  The  persons  who  have  acted 
as  secretary,  treasurer  and  librarian  combined,  are  Jonathan 
T.  Wright,  who  served  twenty-four  years,  Ebenezer  T. 
Wheeler,  five  years,  Dea.  Perry  M.  Farley,  ten  years,  and 
Dea.  Enoch  J.  Colburn,  two  years.  As  secretary  and  treas- 
urer alone,  Francis  A.  Lovejoy  served  three  years,  Franklin 
P.  Colburn,  two  years,  Edgar  J.  Patch,  three  years,  Geo.  H. 
Hardy  six  years,  Charles  J.  Pollock, one  year,  and  Wilbert  P. 
Farley  is  now  on  his  sixth  year.  Those  who  have  served  as 
librarians  are  James  C.  Hildreth  who  served  four  years,  Hor- 
ace Vandyke,  three  years,  Edward  L.  Hodgman  and  Cyrus 
F.  Burge,  two  years  each,  Albert  H.  Richardson,  Mrs. 
Isaac  W.  Pierce,  Austin  R.  Paull,  Miss  Bertha  L.  Colburn, 
Mrs.  Amanda  A.  Swallow  and  Mrs.  Lizzie  S.  Russell,  each 
one  year,  and  Roger  Paull  is  now  on  his  sixth  year. 

The  superintendents  have  been  Dea.  Ephraim  Burge,  Dea. 
William  Emerson,  Cyrus  F.  Burge,  Edward  L.  Hodgman,  Rev. 
Darius  B.  Scott,  who  each  served  one  year,  Benj.  G.  Searle, 
Henry  Fox,  Silas  M.  Spalding,  each  two  years,  Dea.  Isaac 
Farley,  Ezra  Shedd,  Leonard  Willoby,  William  A.  Trow, 
Dea.  Perry  M.  Farley,  each  three  years,  Dea.  Phillips  Wood, 
four  years,  Rev.  David  Perry,  Dea.  James  D.  Hills  and 
Henry  A.  Goodwin,  each  five  years,  Dea.  Enoch  J.  Col- 
burn, six  years,  and  Dexter  Greenwood  eight  years.     Edgar 


44 

J.  Patch  served  six  months,  when  he  removed  from  town,  and 
Albert  H.  Richardson  one  year  and  six  months. 

The  qualification  for  membership  in  the  school  at  first  was, 
"all  who  signed  the  constitution,"  which  was  amended  in 
183  i  and  the  words  added,  "and  who  pay  annually  an}-  sum 
for  the  support  of  the  library,"  and  it  so  remained  for  thirty 
years,  when  it  was  changed  to  "any  person  who  shall  attend 
the  school  as  teacher  or  pupil  for  three  months  may  be  a 
member  of  the  school,"  and  it  has  so  remained  for  thirty-two 
years. 

The  records  do  not  show  the  numbers  attending  the  school 
for  the  first  fifty  )Tears,  and  we  have  no  means  of  knowing 
the  highest,  lowest,  or  average  attendance  of  those  times ;  but 
the  votes  passed  at  the  annual  meeting  in  1 83 1 ,  appointing  a  com- 
mittee ' '  to  canvass  the  town  and  converse  with  all  parents  and 
prevail  on  them  to  send  their  children  to  the  Sabbath  School, ' ' 
and  again  in  1836,  1839  and  1844  "that  there  be  an  effort 
made  to  get  young  people  into  the  Sabbath  School,"  show 
the  efforts  that  were  made  for  success,  though  with  what  re- 
sult we  do  not  know. 

The  average  number  connected  with  the  school  for  the  last 
seven  years  has  been  two  hundred  thirty,  and  the  average  at- 
tendance one  hundred  fourteen. 

The  'need  of  a  library  connected  with  the  school  was  felt  at 
an  early  date,  for  we  find  a  catalogue  of  one  hundred  twenty- 
one  volumes  dated  March,  1830,  which  is  the  only  written 
item  that  comes  to  us  of  the  existence  of  a  school  before  1S30. 
During  the  earlier  years  there  were  committees  appointed  to 
canvass  the  town  and  solicit  donations  for  the  support  of,  and 
additions  to,  the  library,  and,  so  far  as  we  know,  all  money 
raised  in  the  school  or  by  donations  was  expended  for  that 
purpose.  The  records  show  that  committees  were  appointed 
from  time  to  time  to  purchase  new  books  and  dispose  of  the 
old  ones.  The  library  at  present  contains  some  more  than 
four  hundred  volumes,  most  of  which  are  designed  for  chil- 
dren and  the  younger  members  of  the  school. 

The  method  of  raising  money   in  the  school,  for  the  last 


45 

twenty  five  years,  has  been  by  penny  boxes  and  envelopes, 
which  are  passed  through  the  school  each  Sabbath,  and  the 
amount  raised  in  this  way  has  averaged  during  the  last  seven 
years  $104.60  annually,  which  is  expended  in  the  purchase  of 
books  for  the  library,  for  the  expenses  of  the  school,  and  for 
donations  to  worthy  objects  that  are  presented  from  time  to 
time. 

Question  books  were  first  introduced  into  the  school  in 
1843,  and  continued  until  the  "  International  Sunday  School 
Lessons  "  were  introduced,  soon  after  they  first  appeared. 

Those  who  are  now  between  the  ages  of  sixty  and  sixty-five 
will  remember  a  large  class  of  small  children,  too  young  to 
recite  verses  or  attend  the  regular  sessions  of  the  school, 
who  were  gathered  in  the  square  yellow  school-house,  then 
standing  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  common,  and  were 
there  under  the  care  and  instruction  of  Miss  Eliza  Jewett  and 
Miss  Susan  Hale,  and  were  taught  to  repeat  the  Lord's 
prayer,  after  the  teacher,  a  sentence  at  a  time,  and  in  simple 
language  such  as  they  could  understand,  were  taught  the  love 
of  God,  and  how  Jesus  died  for  men,  and  how  we  should  love 
and  obey  him.  They  were  helped  to  understand,  and  their 
interest  awakened,  by  large  pictures  of  Jesus  on  the  cross, 
etc.,  to  illustrate  Bible  truth  and  the  way  of  salvation.  I  per- 
sonallv  remember  my  mother  leading  me  to  the  door  and  en- 
couraging me  to  remain,  while  she  attended  a  Bible  class  at 
Rev.  Eli  Smith's  house,  where  for  several  years  he  had  a 
large  class  of  middle  aged  and  elderly  ladies. 

In  looking  over  the  list  of  persons  who  signed  the  constitu- 
tion as  members  of  the  school  in  1830,  and  a  few  years  later, 
beginning  with  Rev.  Eli  Smith,  Dea.  Ephraim  Burge,  Daniel 
Bailey  and  so  down  the  list,  one  must  count  to  the  sixty- 
third  name  before  he  will  come  to  one  now  living.  All  that 
was  mortal  of  those  first  recorded  is  now  resting  in  our  ceme- 
teries, and  what  was  immortal  may  be  now  realizing  the 
value  of  Sunday-school  instruction  obtained  in  this  Sunday 
school.  The  lesson  to  be  learned  by  us  is,  "  Be  ye  therefore 
ready  also :  for  the  son  of  man  cometh  at  an  hour  when  ye 
think  not." 


SKETCH  OF  THE  CHOIR. 

DEXTER    GREENWOOD. 


Tradition  and  observation  both  warrant  us   in  the  declara- 
tion that  singing  has  held  an  important  place  in  the  worship 
of  a  Deity,  by  all  tribes  and   nations,  from  the  earliest  period 
of  history.     We  have   no  knowledge  of   a   people  who    wor- 
shipped a  God  or   Gods,  true   or  false,  with  whom  music  did 
not  have  a  prominent  place.     We  shall  find,  as  we   consider 
the  subject  of  church  music,  from  the  time  of  the  first  settlers 
in  New  England,  to  the  organization  of  the  church  in  Hollis, 
the  150th  anniversary  of  which   we  to-day  celebrate,  that  our 
forefathers  in  Hollis,  in   this  respect,    were  much   like  other 
folks.     L,et  us  for  a  few  moments  look  at  a   word  picture   of 
the  "other  folks,"  and  the  customs  and  usages  that  had  be- 
come so  fixed,  that  their  vise-like  grip  was  hard  to  shake  off. 
The  historian  says,  "  They  held   an  unaccountable  prejudice 
against  every  kind  of  musical   practice  during  divine  service. 
This  prejudice  sometimes  assumed  the  proportions  of   a   fan- 
atical hatred  of  music,  to  such  a  degree  that  even  the  simple 
psalm  tune  was  entirely  dropped,  and  the   people  became  as 
unmusical    as   if    they    had    been    uncivilized   barbarians." 
"They    would    even    chase    the    musicians    from    the    organ 
gallery." 

The  Puritans  and  Dissenters  in  general  confounded  music 
with  Popery,  and  therefore  it  was  banished,  not  alone  from 
church  service  but  from  the  home  circle,  all  the  music  books 
were  destroyed,  the  organ  taken  down,  and  the  invention  of 
new  tunes  was  peremptorily  forbidden. 

The  Pilgrims,  who  landed  at   Plymouth   in    1620,    brought 


47 

with'  them  their  psalm  tunes,  and  their  hatred  of  secular 
music,  and  this  aversion  against  secular  music  had  much  to  do 
in  their  choice  of  sacred  music.  Therefore  they  used  nothing 
but  the  Psalter,  which  they  brought  over  with  them. 

The  version  of  the  Psalter  was  made  by  Henry  Ainsworth 
of  Amsterdam.  It  guided  the  devotions  of  the  settlers  at 
Plymouth  and  Salem  for  many  years,  but  was  superseded  in 
most  churches,  in  1640,  by  the  Bay  Psalm  book,  which  was 
prepared  by  a  New  England  divine,  and  published  at  Cam- 
bridge, it  being  the  second  book  published  in  America.  Pre- 
vious to  the  year  1690  it  is  said  there  were  but  eight  or  ten 
psalm  tunes,  taken  mostly  from  Ravenscroft's  collection,  and 
these  were  sung  in  rotation,  without  any  regard  to  the  subject 
of  the  preacher.  About  1712,  John  Tufts  of  Newbury,  Mass., 
published  a  book  of  twenty-eight  tunes,  with  rules,  "  that  the 
tunes  might  be  learned  with  the  greatest  ease  and  speed  im- 
aginable." When  it  was  made  known  that  some  had  ac- 
quired the  art  of  learning  a  tune  by  note,  without  having 
heard  it  sung,  all  were  amazed,  and  still  more  astonished  that 
all  could  finish  the  tune  together.  Thus  while  the  Pilgrims 
gradually  accepted  the  injunction  to  "Sing  aloud  unto  God 
our  strength  ;  make  a  joyful  noise  unto  the  God  of  Jacob," 
it  was  a  long  time  before  they  would  accept  the  teachings  of 
the  92nd  Psalm  :  "  It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  unto  the 
Lord,  and  to  sing  praises  unto  thy  name,  O  most  High  ;  upon 
an  instrument  of  ten  strings,  and  upon  the  psaltery  ;  upon 
the  harp  with  a  solemn  sound,"  and  when,  in  time,  these  in- 
novations crept  into  the  church,  they  shocked  the  more  de- 
vout members,  and  brought  consternation  to  the  faces  of  the 
elect. 

The  organ  was  unknown  in  the  early  churches  in  this  coun- 
try, therefore  efforts  were  made  by  the  more  advanced  sec- 
tions to  introduce  stringed  instruments  into  the  church,  to  aid 
and  guide  the  singers  to  "  take  the  pitch,"  and  keep  it.  The 
opposition  to  the  "  fiddle  "  was  such,  that  very  grave  doubts 
were    entertained  as  to  the  possibility   of  a  person   being  a 


4S 

Christian  who  played  the  "fiddle."  This  feeling  was  so  strong 
and  prevalent,  that  some  felt  it  their  duty  to  remonstrate  with 
a  professing  Christian  who  had  fallen  into  this  ' '  grievous  sin . ' ' 
This  led  the  spinster,  who  was  a  member  of  Dr.  layman 
Beeeher's  church,  to  interview  him,  to  ascertain  the  truth  of 
a  report  that  he  was  playing  a  fiddle.  "  Playing  a  fiddle  !  " 
exclaimed  the  doctor,  ' '  I  cannot  conceive  how  such  a  report 
could  have  started,  unless  it  sprang  from  the  fact,  that  I  some- 
times play  the  violin."  "  Well,"  she  replied,  "  I  knew  there 
could  be  nothing  to  the  story,"  and  departed  with  the  com- 
forting thought  that  everything  was  all  right  with  her  pastor. 
We  might  cite  various  instances  of  the  opposition  to  the  intro- 
duction of  stringed  instruments  in  church  service,  and  from 
the  records  we  find  that  Hollis  church  was  not  exempt  from 
the  troublesome  question,  for  question  it  was,  and  its  settle- 
ment in  those  days  could  only  be  through  the  "town-meet- 
ing," where  the  two  factions  could  state  all  the  pros  and  cons 
and  decide  by  a  vote.  The  opposition  to  the  introduction  of 
the  ' '  fiddle  ' '  was  such  that  it  became  a  live  question  in  several 
town-meetings  before  it  was  settled,  as  we  learn  from  an  ex- 
tract from  the  History  of  Dunstable,  as  follows  :  "  Efforts  at 
various  times  had  been  made  to  introduce  the  bass-viol  into 
the  church  service,  but  serious  objections  were  made  to  it. 
One  called  it  the  L,ord's  fiddle,  and  another  said  he  should 
get  up  and  dance  if  it  came  into  the  church.  At  one  meeting 
it  was  'voted  to  suspend  the  introduction  of  the  bass-viol  for 
the  present,  on  account  of  an  objection  made  by  Lieut.  Simeon 
Cummings,'  but  on  the  20th  of  March,  1804,  the  innocent 
instrument  triumphed  over  all  opposition,  the  church  voting 
that  the  bass-viol  be  introduced  into  the  meeting-house  on 
days  of  public  worship,  and  that  those  who  have  skill  to  use 
it,  bring  it  and  perform  on  Sabbath  days." 

We  must  now  pass  from  the  instrumental  to  the  vocal  part 
of  the  church  worship.  This  church,  from  all  we  can  learn, 
in  its  efforts  to  advance,  had  to  stem  the  tide  of  the  Puritan 
prejudice  against  any   innovation  of  the  customs  of  former 


49 

times.  Just  how  strong  the  prejudice  was  that  existed  here, 
we  can  gather  only  from  the  fact  that  it  received  the  attention 
of  the  voters  in  town-meeting  (as  most  matters  relating  to 
church  worship  did  at  the  time),  at  least  in  two  different  ones, 
as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  taken  from  the  address  of  the 
late  Samuel  T.  Worcester,  before  the  Nashua  Historical  So- 
ciety in  1872:  "At  the  annual  meeting  in  1767,  the  town 
'  Voted  that  those  persons  that  have  taken  pains  to  instruct 
themselves  in  singing,  may  have  the  two  fore  seats  below  on 
the  men's  side.'  In  1784  it  was  voted,  'That  twelve  feet  of 
the  hind  body  seats  below,  next  the  broad  aisle,  be  appropri- 
ated to  the  use  of  singers,  on  condition  that  a  certain  number 
of  them  give  the  glass  necessary  to  repair  the  windows  ;  '  and 
in  17SS  it  was  voted,  '  That  the  ground  now  occupied  by 
singers  shall  not  be  appropriated  to  any  other  use  and  that  the 
singers  may  be  allowed  to  sing  once  a  day  without  reading.  ' 
This  seems  to  have  been  a  final  and  decisive  triumph  on  the 
part  of  the  choir.  Thenceforth  it  not  only  received  toleration 
from  the  town-meeting,  but  approved  recognition  as  a  fitting 
adjunct  of  public  worship,  and  a  place  to  sit  and  stand  in  the 
church  without  the  condition  to  pay  for  it  in  mending  broken 
windows.  At  length,  and  before  the  end  of  the  century,  the 
choir  was  promoted  to  conspicuous  seats  fitted  up  specially 
for  it  in  the  front  gallery."  For  the  benefit  of  the  younger 
portion  of  this  assembly,  we  will  say  that  the  "reading" 
mentioned  above  referred  to  the  custom,  before  hymn  books 
were  in  general  use,  of  the  minister  or  deacon  reading  the 
first  two  lines  of  the  hymn,  when  it  would  be  sung,  then  the 
next  two,  and  so  on  until  the  hymn  was  finished.  It  was  not 
long  after  this  period,  however,  before  the  psalms  and  hjmius 
of  Dr.  Watts  were  introduced. 

Just  when  a  choir  was  formally  organized  there  is  no  rec- 
ord, but  it  is  evident  the  whole  question  soon  culminated  in 
the  formation  of  a  choir,  which  ever  after  had  the  responsi- 
bility of  that  part  of  divine  worship.  Fortunate  was  the  con- 
gregation which  had  among  its  members  a  man  who  could 
give  the  right  key,  or  "  take  the  sound,"  as  it  was  sometimes 


50 

called,  and  even  then,  until  the  advent  of  the  tuning-fork  or 
stringed  instruments,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  harmony  was  not 
always  the  most  notable  part  of  the  performance,  for  if  the 
"  head  "  man  gave  the  pitch  too  high  or  too  low,  it  was  liable 
to  result  in  the  mortifying  embarrassment  of  the  first  or  second 
treble  trying  to  sing  beyond  the  compass  of  her  voice.  But 
this  condition  of  things,  as  in  other  cases,  was  subject  to  evolu- 
tion, and  the  foot-prints  of  progress  were  soon  manifest  by  the 
introduction  of  stringed  instruments,  which  marked,  as  it 
were,  a  new  era.  The  period  that  marked  the  advent  of  the 
stove  into  the  meeting-house,  was  about  the  same  as  the  ad- 
mission of  stringed  instruments,  both  of  which  had  their  ad- 
vocates and  opponents,  until  about  1830,  when  the  bass-viol 
and  the  violin  became  a  very  acceptable  addition  to  the  church 
music.  Just  how  much  skill  was  considered  requisite  to  play 
on  these  instruments,  was,  so  far  as  we  know,  left  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  performer.  Among  the  first,  and  perhaps  the 
first  players  on  these  "fiddles,"  were  Deacon  Wm.  Emerson 
on  the  bass  viol,  and  Alpheus  Eastman  on  the  violin,  who  later 
became  leader  and  teacher,  holding  singing  schools  in  Conant 
Hall. 

In  these  early  days  the  singing  school  was  welcomed  with 
delight  by  the  young  people  as  a  place  of  resort  for  the  long 
winter  evenings.  The  schools  were  free  to  all,  the  expenses 
being  paid  by  those  who  were  interested  in  having  music  well 
sustained  in  the  choir.  Then  there  was  no  well-lighted  hall 
as  now,  but  they  met  in  some  hall  or  school-house,  and  each 
brought  his  own  candle  or  lamp.  Sometimes  local  talent  was 
employed,  but  more  generally  a  teacher  was  employed  from  a 
neighboring  town,  who  taught  two  evenings  a  week  and 
boarded  with  the  pupils.  One  afternoon  of  each  week  was 
devoted  to  the  "new  beginners, ' '  as  they  were  called,  and  it  was 
a  very  trying  time  to  them,  for  each  one  was  required  to  rise 
and  fall  the  musical  scale  alone,  and  on  their  ability  to  do 
this  correctly  they  were  to  be  considered  capable  of  becoming 
singers.  The  evening  sessions  were  also  in  contrast  to  those 
of  the  present  day.     They  began  promptly  at  six  o'clock  and 


5i 

closed  at  nine  with  an  intermission  of  ten  minutes.     At  the 
close  of  these  schools  there  was  a  grand  exhibition,  as  they 
called  it    then,   in    the  church.     The    school    would  fill    the 
singers'  gallery  and  extend  out  into  the  seats  at  the  side.     As 
there  was  no  means  of  lighting  the  church,  candles  and  lamps 
were  placed  on  the  railing  in  front  and  on  stands  farther  back, 
that  all  might  have  light.     The  singers  were  accompanied  by 
players  on  the  bass  and  double  bass  viols  with  perhaps  three 
or  four  violins.      In  the  audience  room  below  there  was  no 
light,  except  what  reflected  from  the  gallery.     At  the  close  of 
the  singing  school,  the  choister  would  give  a  general  invita- 
tion to  all  who  were  willing,  to  join  the  choir  and  help  sustain 
that  part  of  the  worship.     This  would  result  many   times  in 
the  choir  gallery  being  filled  to  overflowing,  and  the  society 
would  be  highly  pleased  with  the  addition,  but  it  was  gener- 
ally of  short  duration,  as  one  by  one,  they  would  tire  of  the 
responsibility,  and  the  faithful  few  would  be  left  as  before. 
Thanksgiving  and  Fast-days  received  especial  attention,  the 
choir  rehearsing  their  anthems  of  praise  or  penitence  many 
times,  that  they  might  be  rendered  acceptably  to  the  audience 
and  themselves. 

A  very  competent  successor  to  Mr.  Eastman  on  the  violin 
was  George  W.  Parker,  and  on  the  bass  viol  Moses  Woods, 
Charles  P.  Woods,  Warren  K.  Lovejoy  and  others,  for  a  long- 
er or  shorter  period  as  the  case  might  be.  If,  for  any  reason, 
the  players  on  stringed  instruments  were  absent,  the  choir  was 
spared  the  consternation  of  having  to  start  off  without  first 
having  been  given  the  fa-sol-la,  as  it  was  then  given,  for  they 
could  always  depend  on  the  quiet,  unostentatious  Captain 
Wright  with  his  tuning  fork.  It  made  no  difference  who  got 
offended  or  had  a  cranky  fit.  He  was  always  at  his  post, 
ready  to  "  help  boost,"  as  he  used  to  say,  and  nothing  ruffled 
the  equilibrium  of  his  placid  disposition,  and  this  he  kept  up 
for  sixty  years,  when  age  compelled  him  to  give  his  place  to 
younger  men. 

A  passing  word  now  about  the  early  singers  in  the  Hollis 
choir  is  all  that  time  will  permit,  as  they  have  all  passed,  we 


52 

trust,  to  join  in  the  song  with  the  "  great  multitude  which  no 
man  can  number;"  but  we  may  mention  the  families,  some  of 
whose  members  assisted  in  keeping  the  Hollis  choir  up  to  the 
equal  of  any  of  the  rural  churches  in  Hillsboro'  County.  The 
names  of  Sawtelle,  Wright,  Messer,  Gould,  Pool,  Boynton, 
Hale,  Sanderson,  Thayer,  Conant,  Blood,  Holden,  Farley. 
Bradley,  Lovejo3T,  Spaulding,  Wheeler  and  others.  A  member 
of  one  of  these  families,  Mr.  Edmund  Messer,  in  a  recent  letter 
says  :  "  My  first  recollections  of  the  Hollis  choir  are  of  a  full 
membership,  with  Alpheus  Eastman,  with  his  old  yellow  fiddle, 
badly  played  ;  nevertheless  he  was  a  wonderful  leader.  By 
his  side  stood  Aunt  Hannah  Worcester,  tall  and  prim,  and 
there  she  stood  every  Sunday,  wet  or  dry,  and  led  the  treble. 
Hannah  Thayer  was  the  sweetest  treble  singer  in  Hollis,  and 
Harriet  Wood  the  finest  alto.  By  and  by  Aunt  Hannah 
Worcester  accepted  a  proposal  of  marriage  with  Deacon 
Thurston  of  Bedford.  Mary  Ann  Gould  took  her  place  in  the 
choir.  At  the  head  of  the  bass,  in  the  front  seat  next  to  the 
leader,  stood  Ambrose  Gould,  who  kept  the  store  in  the  vil- 
lage. He  was  the  finest  bass  singer  in  all  that  region;  I  never 
heard  a  sweeter  one.  Among  the  bass  singers  in  the  front 
seat  were  Leonard  Bailey  and  my  father,  Benj.  Messer,  side 
by  side,  and  later  Moses  Wood,  a  strong  singer  of  bass,  and 
also  Prescott  Hale.  Col.  Wm.  Emerson  occupied  a  seat  on 
the  breastworks  with  his  back  to  the  minister,  where  he  played 
the  bass  viol.  Among  the  tenors  were  Elias  Conant,  John  Hale 
and  Noah  Jewett;  the  leader  had  one  of  the  sweetest  voices  in 
town.  He  was  there  only  occasionally,  for  rum  was  too  much 
for  him.  Stillman  Spalding  was  a  good  tenor  singer.  Among 
the  sopranos  were  Ann  Holden,  the  Hale  girls,  Nancy  and 
Sally.  The  Hollis  choir  in  those  days  was  one  of  the  best  in 
all  this  region.  As  accompaniments,  Augustus  Gould  and  I 
played  flutes.  Sometimes  a  clarionette  and  occasionally  a 
horn  would  be  heard." 

This  already  too  long  narrative  would  not  be  complete  with- 
out relating  one  or  more  amusing  incidents  connected  with 
the  Hollis  choir.  Among  its  early  stand-bys  has  been  men- 
tioned one,  familiarly  called  Aunt  Hannah  Worcester.     Like 


53 

a  good,  sensible  woman,  she  did  not  marry  until  her  judgment 
was  matured,  when  she  consented  to  become  the  second  wife 
of  a  good  deacon.  Out  of  respect  for  her  long  and  faithful 
sen-ice  in  the  choir,  they  felt  in  duty  bound  to  honor  the  oc- 
casion of  her  nuptials  by  singing  a  favorite  anthem.  Accord- 
ingly as  the  happy  couple  inarched  up  the  broad  aisle  to  the 
altar,  the  choir  started  in  with  much  precision,  "  I  waited  pa- 
tiently, I  waited  patiently."  These  words  were  in  turn  taken 
up  by  the  several  parts,  as  in  the  fugue  pieces  of  the  period, 
until,  to  say  the  least,  the  faces  of  the  large  audience  wore 
anything  but  a  sanctimonious  look.  The  choir,  sixty. or 
seventy  years  ago,  numbered  all  the  way  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  members,  and  very  naturally,  there  would  be  some  who 
would  sing  independent  of  all  the  rest,  for  we  must  remember 
the  choir  held  no  rehearsals  of  the  music  to  be  sung  on  the 
Sabbath. 

From  1843  to  1S48  our  pastor  was  the  Rev.  James  Aiken, 
who  was  a  fine  musician.  Doubtless  the  renderings  of  the 
choir  were  many  times  unsatisfactory  to  him,  but  at  only  one 
time  did  he  manifest  it  publicly.  That  was  at  a  church  ser- 
vice, when  there  was  no  instrument  played,  and  the  key  was 
taken  from  the  tuning  fork,  and  as  was  often  the  case  some 
did  not  take  the  correct  pitch.  After  they  had  finished  sing- 
ing the  hymn,  he  asked  them  if  they  would  not  sing  it  again, 
as  he  could  not  preach  after  such  singing,  which  they  did, 
more  satisfactorily  it  is  presumed,  as  he  preached  his  sermon 
with  no  farther  comment,  and  wonderful  to  relate  the  choir 
were  not  offended. 

We  must  close  with  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  choir  from 
the  time  the  first  reed  instrument  (a  seraphine)  was  brought 
in,  about  1S49,  by  Mr.  Win.  Trow,  who  labored  zealously  for 
the  advancement  of  the  church  music  for  many  years.  The 
society  eventually  purchased  the  instrument  from  Mr.  Trow, 
and  it  was  used  until  the  organ  now  in  use  was  bought,  some 
time  during  the  year  1863,  but  it  was  not  set  up  so  that  there 
was  a  formal  exhibition  of  its  quality  until  Feb.  24,  1864, 
when  a  large  audience  assembled  and  gave  it  a  cordial  wel- 
come, as  they  listened  to  the  music  produced  by  a  profession- 


54 

al  organist.  From  1864  to  1S70  the  pay  of  the  organist  was 
voluntarily  contributed.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  an  item 
in  the  parish  expenses. 

A  former  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Day,  upon  a  stormy  Sabbath, 
would  often  take  a  singer  by  the  hand  and  thank  him  for  the 
effort  he  had  made  to  be  present,  to  sustain  his  or  her  part 
of  the  worship.  There  were  always  some  in  the  Hollis  choir 
whose  seats  were  seldom  vacant.  They  felt  they  had  a  mis- 
sion to  perform  in  their  part  of  the  service,  as  truly  as  the 
pastor  had  in  the  pulpit.  For  over  forty  years  it  has  been  the 
custom  of  the  people  to  invite  the  choir,  or  part  of  them,  to 
render  their  service  at  the  burial  of  friends.  This,  though 
many  times  inconvenient  to  the  singers,  has  strengthened  the 
bond  of  sympathy  between  them,  and  we  trust  the  voice  of 
melody  has  sometimes  soothed  their  wounded  hearts,  and 
drawn  them  upward  to  the  Father,  ' '  who  doeth  all  things 
well." 

In  1883  the  organ  was  removed  from  the  gallery  and  placed 
in  its  present  position  back  of  the  pulpit,  and  the  music  has 
been  performed  by  a  choir,  small  in  numbers,  in  comparison 
with  those  of  former  times.  Their  history  and  musical  achieve- 
ments we  will  leave  to  be  related  by  the  future  historian  at 
the  two  hundreth  church  anniversary. 

May  we  all,  who  have  sung  God's  praises  in  this  old  Hollis 
church  meet,  an  unbroken  number,  before  the  throne  of  God 
and  join  with  the  multitude  in  song, 

"  Where  nothing  jars  the  eternal  harmony  ; 
Love  melts  each  voice,  love  lifts  its  accents  high, 
Love  beats  the  time,  presides  o'er  every  string. 
The  heavenly  orchestra  one  signal  sways  ; 
The  sound  becomes  more  sweet,  the  more  it  strays 
Through  varying  changes,  in  harmonious  maze  ; 
He,  who  the  song  inspired,  prompts  all  who  sing." 


REMINISCENCES. 


Rev.  Samuel  L.  Gerould,  Hollis,  N .  H. 

My  Dear  Brother  :  — I  thank  you  for  the  invitation  given 
me  to  be  with  you,  at  my  childhood's  home,  on  the  one  hun- 
dred and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  church. 
Heart  and  inclination  say,  go;  but  distance  and  the  weight 
of  my  four-score  years  will  not  permit.  I  cheerfully  comply, 
however,  with  your  request  that  I  should  send  a  paper  for 
that  occasion,  speaking  of  the  influence  in  other  parts  of  the 
land  of  those  who  have  gone  out  from  Hollis  and  its  church. 
I  shall  confine  myself  chiefly  to  those  whom  I  have  personally 
known,  and  many  of  whom  I  found  occasion  to  mention  in  my 
letters  published  last  year  in  the  Mollis  Times.  But  let  such 
passages  be  for  the  ears  of  those  who  did  not  read  the  Times. 

Churches,  like  individuals,  have  their  character  and  gen- 
eral bent  largely  determined  by  the  influences  affecting  their 
early  years,  and  the  Hollis  church  is  deeply  indebted  to  the 
life  and  work  of  its  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Emerson, 
whose  half  century  of  service  stamped  upon  the  church  the 
indelible  impress  of  his  own  faithful  earnestness  and  pure 
New  England  orthodoxy.  Converted  under  Whitfield,  his 
soul  was  thenceforth  fired  with  a  zeal  for  winning  others  to 
Christ,  and  with  a  determination  to  make  the  very  utmost  of 
his  own  life.  His  earnest  piety  was  engrafted  upon  a  broad 
and  well  balanced  mind,  and  grandly  he  led  his  people  always 
toward  that  which  was  highest  and  best.  In  spite  of  the 
hardships  of  a  new  settlement  and  the  wars  which  occurred 
during  his  ministry,  Pastor  Emerson  inspired  his  hearers  with 
an  enthusiasm  for  education,  and  the  young  men  of  his  con- 


56 

gregation  became  eager  to  fit  themselves  to  preach  the  gospeL 
It  has  been  said,  and  undoubtedly  with  truth,  that  no  town  of 
her  population  had  so  many  college  graduates,  and  among 
them  so  many  ministers,  as  Hollis  during  the  fifty  years  from 
1780  to  1830.  Let  me  speak  briefly  of  a  few  of  those  minis- 
ters. 

The  Rev.  Grant  Powers,  a  grandson  of  Captain  Peter  Pow- 
ers, was  settled  over  the  Congregational  church  at  Haverhill, 
N.   H.,   in  1 8 15,  where  he  remained   a  faithful  pastor  until 

1829,  wielding  during  all  those  years,  as  I  am  told,  a  mighty 
influence  for  good,  and  recognized  as  the  leading  mind  among 
the  churches  of  that  vicinity.  The  same  year  of  his  dismissal 
at  Haverhill  he  was  settled  in  Goshen,  Conn.,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death  in  184 1.  I  remember  well  his  appear- 
ance in  Hollis  where  he  delivered  the  centennial  address  in 

1830.  His  health  was  feeble  at  the  time,  and  I  recall  that  in 
the  midst  of  his  address  he  requested  the  muscians  to  enter- 
ain  the  audience  while  he  secured  a  few  moments  rest. 

The  Rev.  Stephen  Farley  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  in  [806.  In  1819  he 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Atkinson  Academy  while  also  supply- 
ing the  church  at  that  place.  He  was  a  scholarly  man  and  a 
good  preacher. 

The  Rev.  Caleb  Jewett  Tenney,  D.  D.,  was  born  at  the 
Tenney  homestead  in  1780;  was  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
college  in  1801,  with  first  rank  and  honors  in  the  class  of 
which  Daniel  Webster  was  a  member.  He  was  ordained  pas- 
tor of  the  Congregational  church  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  in  1804, 
where  he  remained  for  ten  years,  being  dismissed  in  18 14.  be- 
cause of  ill  health.  Two  years  later  he  was  settled  over  the 
church  in  Wethersfield,  Conn. ,  then  the  most  important  church 
in  the  state.  So  acceptable  were  his  labors  there  that,  when 
he  lost  his  voice  after  twenty  years  of  pastoral  work,  his 
church  declined  to  accept  his  resignation,  permitting  him  for 
six  years  to  furnish  a  supply,  in  the  hope  that  his  voice  would 
be  restored.     He  is  remembered  as  an  able  preacher,  a  model 


57 

pastor,  and  as  one  especially  gifted  with  wisdom  and  skill  irt 
settling  difficulties.  A  near  neighbor  of  my  own,  an  aged  min- 
ister who  once  resided  in  Dr.  Tenny's  family,  has  given  me 
an  illustration  of  this  last  trait.  Walking  one  day  with  Dr. 
Tenny,  they  passed  a  fine  residence  and  the  doctor  related  an 
incident  which  occurred  when  the  occupants  were  the  young 
parents  of  one  little  child.  The  mother  only  was  a  professed 
Christian  and  she  wished  the  child  baptized.  The  father  had 
leanings  towards  the  Baptist  faith  and  objected.  The  contro- 
versy grew  sharp,  and  a  coldness  divided  the  hitherto  happy 
couple.  They  agreed,  however,  to  submit  the  question  to 
their  pastor,  Dr.  Tenney.  "Ah!"  he  said,  after  listening 
patiently  and  kindly  to  both  sides.  "You  have  never  been 
properly  and  thoroughly  married,  or  you  do  not  remember 
the  solemn  promises  you  have  made  to  God.  Stand  up  now, 
and  take  each  other  by  the  hand  while  I  marry  you  once 
more. ' '  So  deeply  were  they  impressed  by  the  solemn  pledges 
of  mutual  love  and  forbearance  required  in  the  second  mar- 
riage ceremony,  and  by  the  earnest  prayer  in  which  their  pas- 
tor laid  their  difficulties  before  the  L,ord,  that  there  was  never 
after  any  hint  of  trouble  between  them. 

I  should  not  dare  to  say  who  has  done  the  most  of  good 
of  all  those  who  have  gone  out  from  Hollis  to  live  lives  of  use- 
fulness, but  I  know  of  no  one  who  has  done  more  than  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Emerson,  son  of  Deacon  Daniel  Emerson.  A 
graduate  of  Harvard,  he  was  settled  at  Beverly,  Mass.,  in 
1803.  His  vigorous  mind  and  lofty  spiritual  nature  dwelt 
within  a  frail  body,  but  his  life  was  one  of  great  activity  and 
effectiveness.  After  preaching  thirteen  years  at  Beverly, 
where  he  was  deeply  loved,  he  established  a  female  seminary 
at  Byfield,  Mass.,  where  he  put  into  telling  effect  his  greatly 
advanced  views  respecting  the  education  of  women.  It  is 
only  necessary  to  say  that  Miss  Grant  and  Miss  Mary  Eyon 
were  his  pupils  and  assistant  teachers,  to  bring  before  you 
the  mighty  forces  set  in  action  by  this  gifted  son  of  Hollis. 
The  world  can  never  too  highly  estimate  its  debt  to  Joseph 
Emerson.     His  seminary  was  removed  a  few  years  later  to 


58 

Saugus,  near  Boston,  where  Mr.  Emerson  also  gathered  a 
congregation  of  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Congregationalists, 
to  whom  he  preached  during  his  residence  in  that  town.  It 
was  never  my  privilege  to  see  and  hear  him  until  after  the  re- 
moval of  his  seminary  to  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  in  1824,  where 
in  spite  of  unceasing  physical  infirmities,  he  continued  to 
teach  and  to  preach.  His  biographer  tells  us  that  when  his 
ankles  became  too  weak  to  support  his  body,  he  would  some- 
times preach  upon  his  knees. 

Another  Hollis  boy  who  has  left  his  mark  upon  the  thought 
and  life  of  the  nation  is  Prof.  Ralph  Emerson,  of  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  and  later,  a  resident  of  Rockford,  111. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  college  class  of  181 1,  at  Yale,  and 
his  long  life  was  occupied  in  pastoral  work,  teaching  and  au- 
thorship. He  left  a  large  family  of  children  who,  with  their 
descendants,  have  worthily  represented  this  noble  Hollis 
family  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 

In  the  extreme  northwestern  part  of  Hollis  dwelt  a  few 
godly  families,  among  them  those  of  Deacon  Phillips  Wood, 
Solomon  Hardy  and  John  Sawtell,  and  from  each  of  them 
went  out  a  son  into  the  ministry.  Phillips  Wood,  Jr.,  emigra- 
ted to  Tennessee,  where  he  beeame  a  noted  Presbyterian  min- 
ister. He  has  long  since  gone  to  his  reward,  but  his  child- 
ren and  his  children's  children  are  following  in  the  narrow 
way,  while  the  seeds  of  truth  and  righteousness,  sown  from 
the  old  Hollis  pulpit  and  the  Christian  home  to  take  root  in 
the  boyish  heart  of  Philips  Wood,  still  grow  and  bear  fruit  in 
Tennessee,  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  blessing  of  man. 

At  Andover,  in  1827,  the  Rev.  Solomon  Hardy  was  or- 
dained for  the  home  missionary  work  in  the  distant  West. 
The  brief  but  useful  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  vari- 
ous places  in  Illinois  and  Massachusetts. 

Young  Eli  N.  Sawtelle  went  out  from  his  humble  home  to 
earn,  with  his  own  determined  hand,  the  education  of  college 
and  theological  seminary,  which  helped  to  make  him  the  elo- 
quent and  famous  preacher  he  became.  After  some  success- 
ful years  as  an  evangelist,  and  then  as  a  Kentucky  pastor,  he 


59 

was-  sent  to  France  in  the  interest  of  the  Seaman's  Friend 
Society,  and  became  pastor  of  a  Seaman's  Chapel  at  Havre. 
His  last  years  of  labor  were  spent  in  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  preached  to  a  Congregational  church  which  he  had 
organized. 

Two  ministers  grew  up  in  the  family  of  our  good  pastor, 
Rev.  Eli  Smith.  The  elder  son,  who  bore  his  father's  Chris- 
tian name,  after  his  graduation  from  Dartmouth,  in  1809, 
studied  for  the  ministry  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  first  settled 
over  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Frankfort,  Ky.  Later  he 
preached  at  Paris,  in  the  same  state.  It  is  said  of  him  that 
his  rank  in  the  ministry  is  inferior  to  that  of  no  one  of  his 
contemporaries  in  the  state.  He  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-two. 
His  presence  in  the  Hollis  pulpit  was  always  welcome,  though 
some  were  rather  startled  by  the  fire  and  enthusiasm  of  his 
orator}-. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson,  son  of  Rev.  Daniel  Emerson, 
spent  a  useful  life  as  agent  of  the  American  College  and  Ed- 
ucation Society,  and  as  a  pastor  in  Rockford,  111.,  where  he 
was  especially  successful.  He  was  also  for  a  time  District 
Secretary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 

Did  time  permit,  it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  speak  at  length 
of  many  other  ministers  of  the  Gospel  whose  names  Hollis 
should  delight  to  honor,  but  I  can  merely  name  a  few  of  them. 
There  is  the  Rev.  Luther  Smith,  who  lived  and  preached  in 
Ohio  ;  the  Rev.  Henry  H.  Sanderson,  who  preached  in  Michi- 
gan, Vermont  and  New  Hampshire;  the  Rev.  Edward  John- 
son, who  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  the 
Rev.  W.  P.  Eastman,  whose  life-work  was  preaching  in  Ohio. 
Belonging  to  an  earlier  date  than  these  are  four  brothers,  all 
eminent  ministers,  the  Revs.  Noah,  Leonard,  Thomas  and 
Samuel  Worcester.  All  are  too  well-known  to  need  recalling 
to  your  memory,  yet,  did  time  permit,  I  should  like  to  speak 
of  them,  as  well  as  of  others  of  the  name  whose  lives  belong 
to  later  years. 

Hollis  has  also  sent  forth  a  multitude  of  untitled  men  and 
women  who  have  done  honorable  and  noble  work  in  the  world. 


6o 

It  is  impossible  to  mention  them  all.  Some  will  recall  the 
useful  lives  of  the  two  daughters  of  good  Deacon  Burge. 
Others  may  speak  of  the  sons  of  Cyrus  Burge.  Some  one 
should  mention  that  the  two  sons  and  four  daughters  of  Ralph 
E.  Tenne}%  though  scattered  in  distant  states,  all  give  evi- 
dence in  their  lives  of  the  thoroughness  of  their  early  training 
in  the  orthodox  Christian  faith  and  life,  while  some  of  them 
have  been  eminent  for  devoted  piety. 

Hollis  people  will  not  soon  forget  Luther  Prescott  Hubbard, 
though  he  left  his  boyhood's  home  while  yet  young.  Wher- 
ever he  has  lived  he  has  been  a  pillar  in  the  church  of  Christ, 
and  his  life  has  been  filled  with  deeds  of  benevolence.  He 
has  served  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society  of  New  York  as  an 
officer  for  more  than  fifty  years,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five,  is  still  its  financial  agent. 

The  large  family  of  Thomas  Cummings  did  their  work  for 
God  in  other  fields  than  Hollis.  Charles  Cummings  was  a 
minister;  one  daughter  was  a  minister's  wife.  Deacon  Enos 
Hardy,  also,  furnished  six  children  for  Christian  labor  in 
various  portions  of  the  Lord's  vine)7ard. 

Deacon  -Thomas  Farley's  son,  Asa,  with  his  good  wife, 
Sibyl  Holt  Farley,  went  to  Michigan  early  in  the  history  of  its 
settlement.     They  lived  devout  and  useful  lives. 

Moses  Proctor  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Evan- 
gelist Eli  N.  Sawtelle,  D.  D.,  about  the  year  1S27,  and  was 
ever  after,  wherever  his  lot  was  cast,  a  faithful  worker  for  the 
Master  and  a  pillar  of  the  church. 

Ruth  Channing  Little  was  sent  out  from  Hollis  by  the  Ed- 
ucation Society  as  a  Christian  teacher  in  1835.  She  after- 
ward married  the  Rev.  Edwin  H.  Nevin,  D.  D.,  and  her  work 
was  for  the  remainder  of  her  life  that  of  the  wife  of  a  college 
president  and  a  city  pastor. 

Two  daughters  of  Pastor  Smith  became  wives  of  ministers 
in  Maine. 

Miss  Mary  A.  Blood,  a  Hollis  girl,  now  an  earnest  Christian 
woman  at  the  head  of  the  Columbia  School  of  Oratory  in 
Chicago,  has  a  wide  sphere  of  religious  influence  in  connec- 


6i 

tion  with  her  teaching.  Her  readings  and  recitations  are 
largely  of  a  religious  character.  I  have  heard  her  read  the 
Twenty-third  Psalm  with  thrilling  effect,  putting  new  and 
deeper  meaning  into  the  familiar  words.  It  is  fortunate  that 
a  woman  so  noble  in  character,  as  well  as  so  accomplished  in 
her  profession,  should  have  in  charge  the  elocutionary  train- 
ing of  a  large  number  of  Bible  students.  At  the  present  time 
some  sixty-five  or  seventy"  are  under  her  instruction,  who  will 
devote  their  lives  to  missionary  work,  many  of  them  acting  as 
city  missionaries  and  reading  the  Bible  to  the  poor  and  suffer- 
ing. 

Deacon  Phillips  Wood,  so  well  known  and  loved  in  Hollis, 
furnished  five  sons  to  spread  abroad  the  good  influences  of  an 
excellent  home  training.  One  I  have  already  mentioned. 
Another  settled  also  in  Tennessee  as  a  physician.  The  re- 
maining three  found  homes  in  Piqua,  O.,  where  are  now 
seventeen  families  of  the  descendents  of  Deacon  Phillips  Wood. 
Among  the  adults  of  these  families  are  thirty-eight  members 
of  churches  and  active  workers  for  the  Master.  A  recent  in- 
cident will  illustrate  the  fact  that  these  children  of  the  Hollis 
church  still  retain  their  Puritan  reverence  for  the  Sabbath. 
A  meeting  was  called,  during  the  winter  just  past,  to  consider 
what  might  be  done  to  promote  a  better  observance  of  the 
Sabbath.  One  man  having  said,  that  though  the  factories 
were  shut  down  on  Sunday,  yet  the  holy  day  was  used  for 
the  weekly  cleaning  up,  another  prominent  citizen  declared 
himself  willing  to  stake  his  reputation  that  those  belonging  to 
the  Wood  family  did  not  so  desecrate  the  day.  One  of  the 
members  of  this  good  family,  Mr.  C.  A.  Wood,  now  an  old 
man,  writes  me,  "  I  feel  thankful  for  my  early  Christian  train- 
ing in  the  old  Hollis  church." 

As  I  write,  the  names  of  Hollis  worthies  crowTd  into  my 
mind.  Ezra  Shed  came  to  Illinois  in  1852,  and,  I  am  told, 
is  one  of  the  '  'salt  of  the  earth."  That  was  a  precious  gift  from 
the  Hollis  church  when  Aunt  Hannah  Worcester  transferred 
her  membership  to  the  church  at  Bedford.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  her  niece,   another  Hannah  Worcester,   and  her  five 


62 

sisters,  daughters  of  Jesse  Worcester,  who  all  went  out  from 
the  Hollis  church  to  other  fields  of  usefulness. 

George  W.  Perkins,  son  of  Deacon  Perkins,  came  to  Illi- 
nois about  the  year  1854,  but  in  1868  settled  in  Farragut,  la. 
He  is  an  active  worker,  assisting  in  the  organization  of  church 
and  Sunday-school  in  the  new  town  of  Farragut,  and  giving 
liberally  for  their  support.  For  twenty  successive  years  he 
has  been  superintendent  of  that  Sunday-school. 

Deacon  William  G.  Brown,  for  more  than  forty  years  the  faith- 
ful agent  of  the  N.  H.  Bible  Society  who,  in  those  years, 
tramped  through  every  town  in  the  state,  and  who  has  done 
more  than  any  other  to  give  the  Word  of  Life  to  its  people, 
must  not  be  forgotten. 

Nancy  Tenney  Little  was  born  in  Hollis  in  1782.  Her 
Christian  life  early  developed  into  one  of  earnest  consecration. 
When,  in  1836,  she  removed  with  her  husband  and  ten  child- 
ren, to  the  new  state  of  Illinois,  she  became  one  of  the  char- 
ter members  of  the  church  in  their  new  home.  Both  she  and 
her  family  have  ahvays  adhered  to  the  faith  taught  from  the 
Hollis  pulpit.  Her  husband  and  all  of  her  children  became 
members  of  the  Congregational  church.  Her  descendants 
are  now  scattered  from  Pennsylvania  to  Oregon.  They  are 
largely  working  Christians,  and  many  of  them  have  aided  in 
laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  religion,  education 
and  good  government  in  the  West. 

Those  whom  I  have  named  in  this  paper  are,  doubtless,  but 
a  small  part  of  the  many  children  of  Hollis  who  have  gone 
forth  to  other  fields  of  usefulness,  all  of  them,  perhaps, 
equally  worthy  of  mention.  Their  record  is  on  high,  and 
there,  too,  is  their  reward,  but  on  earth  it  is  seen  and  will  for 
ages  to  come  be  seen  that   "their  works  do  follow  them." 

My  earnest  wishes  and  prayers  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
Hollis  church  will  cease  only  when  life  shall  cease. 

Sincerely  yours, 

HENRY  G.  LITTLE. 

Grinnell,  Iowa,  March  12th,  1893. 


PHOTOMOUNT 

PAMPHLET  BINDER 


Manufactured  by 

GAYLORD  BROS.  Inc. 

Syracuse,  N.Y. 

Stockton,  Calif. 


